Foxy's New Child
by CarsCars2Fanatic
Summary: This is the surprise story I was working on! I hope you all like it, and I don't own anything that you recognize except for Foxy, Thunder, the triplets, and Nikki! Crappy title, I know, but it would've said 'Story Ideas' since that what this was before it turned into a big long story...
1. Meet Nikki

Foxy was trotting along the main road, heading towards the Interstate at a steady pace, looking for more ingredients for a mixture. She was going to try to mix beer with fruit and create a beer cocktail.

While she was doing so, her acute, cat-like hearing picked up several pain-filled cries. She hesitated, then took off towards the noise, Thunder following after. He had come along, as he normally did, to hold her bag when she climbed into a tree, and for some attention.

The two soon came over a hill and saw a small car being attacked by a mountain lion.

Foxy gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth as her eyes widened. Thunder was growling and standing ready for Foxy's command. "Thunder, sic 'em!" She exclaimed, and he took off like a shot towards the lion. He jumped onto its back, snapping it like a twig from the rate of speed he was traveling at.

Now that the lion was sufficiently exterminated, Foxy came down towards the car, who looked a little young to be out on its own. The car was now scrambling away from Thunder, unsure of what he was. "Are you okay?" Foxy asked in concern, trying to see if the car was well enough to respond.

The car whimpered and visibly shrank away from her. "Thunder, heel."

He obediently trotted back to Foxy's side, and sat down.

"You're a good boy. Now can you stay here? I'm gonna go see if they're okay." She crouched down, setting a hand on his head and ruffling his ears.

He licked her face and wagged his tail, making Foxy giggle.

"Good boy. When we get back, I'll make sure to give you two surprises, then after that, you can come back for the lion. I'll skin it, make a blanket, then you can have the meat."

He woofed quietly, but remained sitting.

Foxy gave him a smile, then began heading slowly towards the car. As she got closer, she could see that it was a boy. "Hey, little guy. What're you doing out here all by yourself?"

He just whimpered again, and yelped as he began inching away from her.

'_Something underneath broken, more then likely... Either that lion did a number on him, or he's been on his own for a while..._'

She crouched down, and continued to try to coax him to her. Finally, her voice seemed to win him over, and he began inching towards her, still skittish. He was quivering from roof to tire, and Foxy could only coax him towards her until she could pick him up.

He was an extremely tiny, toddler-aged truck. He was a dark blue, but the fresh scratches and claw marks along his sides, hood and roof were slowly turning it into a midnight black.

"Ohh, sweetie. Did that big, mean lion hurt you?"

The truck's enormous brown eyes began filling up with more tears, and he began whimpering again, burrowing his injured bumper into Foxy.

"Ohh, poor baby." She murmured, cradling the child gently before adjusting his position slightly so she could see his face. "Where's mommy at? Or are you out here with daddy?"

He tried to shrug, but winced and whimpered.

"Where did you see them at last?" Foxy asked the child.

He pointed with a tire towards one of the rock formations, the one of a giant Hornet's front end. Still cradling him, she went over to the rock, and looked.

What she saw horrified her, and she hurriedly covered the truck's windshield with a hand, not wanting him to see the oily bodies of his parents. "You shouldn't see this, sweetie. It's not a good thing for little boys to see." She told him when he started to struggle.

He whimpered, and Foxy dipped a finger into the oil. Still moderately warm. She called Thunder to go get Mater, Doc, and Sheriff, and to go as fast as he could.

A bark told her she'd been heard, and she saw a blur moving rapidly down the road in the distance. She walked to the hill where she had witnessed the attack, and sat down, setting the child in a more comfortable position. "So, what's your name sweetie?"

"N-Nikki. Are mommy an' daddy gonna be okay?"

"Do you want them to be?"

The little truck shook his hood, and just when Foxy was about to ask why, he slumped to the ground.

"Nikki?" She instantly began nudging him gently with a hand. When she got no response, she scooped him up, held him close, and stood up.

Realizing that she couldn't leave, she began pacing, chewing on her lip frantically and hoping that the others got here soon. For what seemed like an hour, she paced in an extremely stretched out oval, her thoughts a constant repetition of '_I hope his parents are all right. I hope HE'S all right._'

When she heard the sounds of Thunder barking, she turned towards the road and ran as fast as she dared, not wanting to drop Nikki's unconscious body. As she neared, she could see Doc stop in surprise and his eyes widen. She saw Sheriff and Mater's bumpers drop to the road. She could only imagine how she looked, but the words poured out of her mouth in an ever-quickening flow. "...And It took me forever to coax him to me, and when I did, he kept whimpering, and he was shaking, and I asked where his parents were, and he said over by the rock that looks like Doc, and I went over there, and his parents were lying in pools of their own oil, and I covered his eyes and I told him that he shouldn't look and I carried him over to the hill and-"

"Foxy, just calm down. There will be enough time to get the story later. Right now, we need to worry about these two."

"But, Doc, he just passed out! I-I didn't know what to do, and he just-"

At that point, Thunder trotted up to her, and sat at her feet, looking up at her, his head tilted a little and his ears standing upright. As she looked down at him, he whined and gently pawed her leg. She crouched down, and Thunder nosed his way to Nikki through her grasp, and began licking his side in an area where he wasn't gushing oil.

Foxy closed her eyes tightly, then took a deep breath. Afterwards, she sat down next to Thunder, still holding little Nikki tightly. Thunder sat at her side, his tail wagging and hitting her in the back occasionally. She leaned against the large dog's shoulder, her head resting gently against his neck. "Thanks, Thunder." She replied in a sigh, and his tail wagged more quickly.

Just then, Doc came rolling back up the hill to the two. Foxy looked up at him as she noticed him coming towards them. "Are they going to be all right?" She asked, although she already knew the answer.

He shook his hood slowly, regretfully, and Foxy lowered her head down to Nikki's cab slowly.

"Is there anything we can do for Nikki?" She asked, her voice muffled.

"First, we'll need to get him back to the clinic."

Foxy nodded, then stood up, still cradling the tiny body. Mater offered her a ride back with him, which she accepted. She climbed up into his bed, and Thunder hopped up after her. As the group went back to the town, Foxy kept one hand wrapped around Nikki, and the other was holding onto Mater's towing arm.

He dropped her off in Doc's clinic, then went to tell the others. Thunder was sitting just inside and to the right of the doors, waiting patiently for his treats. Foxy was anxiously pacing from one side of the waiting room to the other, and Thunder soon got up to join her at her side.

About an hour later, Doc rolled out into the waiting room, and chuckled quietly. Foxy and Thunder were pacing the room, their footsteps completely in sync. It looked as though Foxy had a shadow in the form of a dog.

"He's fine. And awake." Doc's voice cut through her haze of thoughts, and her head snapped up.

"He is? Oh, good!" Foxy sighed in relief, sinking into a chair and running her hands through her hair.

"Foxy, you've barely known this kid for two hours. What's so special about this one?"

"He's an orphan now, Doc. Me and Thunder were the only ones there to see it. I feel like the least I can do is worry about him."

"You really like him, don't you?"

Foxy's small nod, accompanied with a sigh, was exactly what Doc expected.

"Legally, you could adopt him. It won't be an easy process, especially since he will be wanting to know where his real parents are..."

"I don't want him to have to go into a shelter. One of my friends I knew at home had been in a shelter, and you could tell that it was just horrible there. Plus, once he turns eighteen, he'll just be thrown out into the streets and expected to fend for himself. Please. He's too sweet to have to go through that." Foxy begged desperately.

Doc sighed, then nodded. "I agree with ya. It would be better if he were here. I'll go get the paperwork."

Doc went down to the courthouse, and Foxy sat down in a chair. Thunder came over and laid his muzzle in her lap. "Well, Thunder. Looks like I've just added one to the family." Thunder's tail wagged gently, and Foxy chuckled. "At least I know he won't be bored. Not with an awesome mom like me, and a playmate like you." She ruffled his ears gently, and he licked her hand.

Doc rolled in the doors, and Foxy stood up. The two went over to his desk, where the papers were quickly filled out and filed. "Looks like you've got yourself a son, Foxy."

"I like the sound of that." She replied with a small smile, and Doc chuckled.

"You can go see him. I think he's expecting you to pop up soon."

With that, Foxy was gone, already on her way to see Nikki.

She poked her head into the room number Doc called to her. "Hey, little guy. You feeling better at all?"

Nikki shook his hook gingerly, being careful of the stitches going across his hood.

"Awww, poor little guy. Come here." She said gently, sitting on the edge of his bed, facing away from the door.

He clambered over to her as best as he could, and finally, his broken axle caused him to collapse onto her lap.

"Awww, poor baby." She murmured, picking him up gently and giving him a hug. "Nikki, there's something I need to tell you, okay?" He nodded, and she continued. "Your mommy and daddy... aren't... well... they won't be coming back for you. See, the mountain lion hurt them really really bad. Even worse then he hurt you. We tried everything we thought would work, but... it didn't. Since you're too little to be on your own, you're going to stay with me. Is that okay?" She felt him nod through her embrace, and mentally sighed with relief. "Good, good. But for now, until you get better, you have to stay here. I'll come and visit you every day, and maybe the giant doggy will too. Would you like that?"

Unknown to her, Doc was watching quietly from the doorway, and had seen the entire exchange of information. '_She did better then I thought she would._' He thought, continuing to watch, his hood slightly tilted.

In response to Foxy's question, Nikki shook his hood gingerly.

"Don't you like the doggy?"

"No."

"Why not?" She asked gently.

"Because daddy said that aminimals are mean."

"Not this doggy. He's silly. And he knows lots of tricks. Should I show you?" She felt him nod, and gently released him after placing him back under the blanket. "Thunder, c'mere boy!" She called into the hallway, and heard his nails clicking on the tiled floor. She turned to him, and saw Doc standing in the doorway.

He gave her a smile, and waved a tire as though saying, "Please, continue. It's really entertaining to watch."

Foxy sighed, her eyes rolling up to look through her bangs, then she turned back to Thunder. "Now, Thunder, Nikki here is a little unsure about you yet. He wants to see you do tricks. Can we do that?"

Thunder nodded, and Foxy smiled.

"Good boy. Thunder, say 'Hello' to Nikki, since you two didn't get to know each other very well yet."

Thunder made a noise that sounded like 'Hewrow.' and Foxy grinned.

"Hi, doggy." Nikki replied hesitantly.

"Thunder, I still don't think he believes us. Maybe a wave would be better."

Thunder sat up on his hind legs and moved a front paw up and down, looking at Nikki.

Nikki waved a tire gingerly back, and Foxy giggled quietly. She tossed a treat towards the wall, and Thunder raced for the wall. He ran up it, caught the treat, then did a flip and landed on the floor. "Wow..." Nikki replied quietly, his eyes wide. She gave Thunder a wink, then tossed another treat up into the air. Like a kangaroo, Thunder shot off the ground while standing on his hind legs, and caught the treat. "Hey, Thunder, you wanna dance?" Foxy asked once he had finished, and Thunder nodded.

He stood up on his hind legs, and put his paws in Foxy's hands. The two danced a modified version of the tango a short distance across the floor, and Foxy scooped up Thunder in her arms. He got out of her grasp, and balanced on her shoulders, looking at Nikki happily.

Nikki, who was now watching intently, didn't seem to be very fearful of Thunder any longer, so Foxy let him down. The two bowed, and Foxy fed Thunder two treats for going to get help earlier.

Nikki giggled quietly, and even Doc chuckled. "He does seem like a nice doggy... will he come on the bed?"

"Sure. Do you want him on the bed?"

"Down there." Nikki pointed with a tire at the foot of the mattress, and Foxy looked at Thunder.

"You heard the little man, Thunder. You won him over."

Thunder woofed quietly, then got onto the bed cautiously, laying down at the very bottom edge of the bed.

"Closer, doggy."

Doc and Foxy shared a glance, and watched as Thunder inched towards the little truck.

"Stop. Right there."

Foxy watched intently, holding her breath, as Nikki slowly reached out a shaking tire, and set it on Thunder's side. Thunder's tail wagged, but not much else happened. Nikki gently began petting Thunder's side, and snuggled closer to him after a few minutes.

Foxy sighed in relief, and gave Thunder a smile. She walked over to the two and began petting Thunder. "He's a good doggy now, right?"

Nikki nodded with a smile, already lying between Thunder's front paws as Thunder licked him.

"He's all slobbery!" Nikki giggled, and Foxy laughed.

"Yeah, he sure is. He used to do it to me, too." Foxy spent the rest of the day with Nikki, and the two got to know each other better.

Finally, Foxy left his side, but only because he had fallen asleep. When she reached the doorway and Thunder wasn't with her, she turned to find him laying next to Nikki, giving her the sad eyes. "All right. I'll stay here too. Let me go tell Fillmore."

Thunder wagged his tail, and Foxy smiled before walking down the hallway and out the doors.

"Ya ready to go, Elizabeth?"

"Actually, Fillmore..." She bit her lip, unsure how to explain that she had just adopted an injured orphan and was going to spend the night with him in case something happened.

He parked and looked down at her curiously.

"There was an incident today. Me and Thunder saw a toddler-aged truck being attacked by a mountain lion. Thunder killed the lion, and I went to get the truck. I asked him where his parents were, and he didn't know. I asked him where he had last seen them, and he pointed to a rock formation. I went over, and they-they were..."

"...Dead..." Fillmore replied quietly, his eyes widening.

Foxy nodded. "And then he passed out, and we brought him back to Doc's, and I was in there all day with him, because I was trying to get him to warm up to Thunder, and for another reason. I didn't want him going to an orphanage, so I kind of... sort of..."

Before she finished, Fillmore swept her off her feet and hugged her tightly. "That's mighty sweet of ya. Is he comin' out tomorrow?" He asked eagerly after he had set her down.

"I'm not sure. He's pretty beat up from the lion attack, and I don't want it to be too much..."

Fillmore nodded, then nuzzled her affectionately. "You'll be a good mom, man."

Foxy blushed, and smiled. "Thanks, Fillmore. I _will_ be over in the morning for coffee. Don't think that just because I adopted a kid, things are going to change."

The two chuckled at her joke, and he nudged her. "Want anything?"

"Nah, I should be all right for one night. Thanks though."

Fillmore nodded, and rolled down the road, towards his dome.

Foxy watched him go, then entered Doc's again, going to the room that Nikki and Thunder were in. She settled down on the floor in the corner of the room, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

**New story! How does everyone like it? Just to let you know, Nikki comes before my Cars 2 story. :) There will be more to this story, so keep on reading! I'm going to try out an ending that I haven't used before, so if it sucks, then that's why. Hope you all keep reading, Liz**


	2. Foxy Introduces Nikki to the Town

The next morning, she awoke to sunlight streaming in through the windows. She looked over at the bed, and found the two still there, sleeping curled up into one another. Foxy's heart melted at the scene, and she fought the urge to say 'Awww.' for fear of waking them both up. She crept out of the room, down the hall, and over to Flo's, where she got her usual morning coffee.

She sat down at Fillmore's side, and moaned quietly, sitting up straighter.

"Somethin' wrong?" He looked down at her worriedly.

"Yeah. She slept on the floor in the room last night." Doc replied, giving her a look.

"Not my fault. I didn't want to wake him up."

"There are other beds in there."

"Yeah, in other rooms. It really wasn't that bad. I'm just a little stiff."

Doc shook his hood with a sigh. "Oh, Foxy."

"Don't look at me, I'm just here for coffee."

The others laughed, and Doc chuckled begrudgingly.

"Speaking of which, I need to-"

"No you don't. You stay here. He'll be fine."

"But, can't I-"

"No."

Foxy sighed, then laid back. "I give up."

"That was fast. You normally keep it up for at least five minutes."

"Yeah, well how would you feel if you slept in a corner on a freezing cold floor each night?" She replied, giving Lightning a piercing look.

"Geez, I'm sorry."

Foxy just sipped at her coffee, not answering. When she was finished with her coffee, she looked over at Lightning. "If you'd really like to see the reason why I've been on the floor, come with me."

"Okay..." He pulled out, and followed her into Doc's.

"He's never gonna believe what she's showin' him." Doc replied with a chuckle, sipping at his own coffee.

"What's she showing him, Doc?" Sally asked, confused.

"That's for her to say."

Lightning returned rather quickly, his eyes wide. "You'll never believe what Foxy's got!"

"What is it?"

"A kid!"

The others looked at Fillmore suspiciously, and he chuckled. "Not me."

"Where'd it come from?"

"She said that he was attacked by a mountain lion, and that his parents were killed by the mountain lion, so she took him in!"

"Poor little guy..."

"When he saw me, he kind of freaked out, so I wouldn't go in there." He cautioned Flo, who was now heading for the clinic.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the clinic, Nikki was engulfed in a hug from Foxy, visibly shaking with fear, the sounds of quiet sobbing coming from his tiny form. "Shhh, Nikki, it's all right. He didn't mean to scare you like that. He just wanted to see you, honey."

"B-But he was really loud, like daddy!"

Foxy froze up at that, and her hug tightened. "He didn't mean it, Nikki. He's a race car. You know what that means, right?"

He looked up at her with tears in his eyes and running down his hood, then shook his front 'no'.

"That means that he can go super-duper fast."

"R-Really?" He asked, and she nodded, wiping the tears off his hood gently.

"Yep. I've seen him race before. He's really good." She gave him a smile, and turned at the sound of an approaching engine. '_Please don't let it be Lightning..._' She thought, and to her relief, it was Flo.

"Hi, honey. Where's he at?"

"He's right here." Foxy replied, giving her a smile and turning so Flo could see the little truck.

Nikki burrowed deeper into Foxy's arms, trying to avoid being seen.

"It's all right, Nikki. Flo's nice." Foxy soothed, hugging him tightly.

"He's adorable, honey. Where'd ya find him at?"

"I'm sure Lightning told you guys everything. I found him by a rock formation. His parents were right in front of it."

"Aww, poor thing. At least he's got you." Flo replied with a warm smile in his direction.

"Do you want to go say hello to Flo, Nikki?"

At his slightly fearful expression, Foxy looked him in the eyes. "I promise she won't scare you."

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded, and Foxy set him down.

"It's cold!" He exclaimed, shivering. He turned around, and pawed at Foxy's leg frantically. "Up, up!"

Foxy laughed quietly, then picked him up. "Okay, how about this?" She crouched down, holding him in her arms, and Flo rolled closer.

"Hi, honey. Aren't you just the cutest truck in the world!" She replied quietly, nuzzling him gently.

He giggled and pulled back, suddenly bashful as he clung to Foxy.

"Are you being bashful, silly Nikki?" Foxy gave him a smile, and he nodded. "You are? Then we're going to have to fix that." With that, Foxy began tickling him, listening to his squeals of laughter.

Flo laughed with her, and began tickling him as well.

His squeals and giggles got louder, and soon Foxy and Flo were laughing. "Ohh, you are just too cute." Foxy sighed happily, hugging him tightly. "Now are you going to say hi to Flo?"

"Hi, Flo!" He exclaimed with a big grin, making the two laugh.

"He'll grow up to be a ham, just like you." Flo gave Foxy a nudge, and Foxy blushed.

"Thanks, Flo."

"Are you gonna come out soon, Nikki? Everybody wants to meet you, hon."

"Doc says that he has to stay in here for a while." Foxy replied with a sigh.

"What Doc says goes around here." Flo replied, giving Nikki a resigned look.

"Aww, but I wanna come out for a little."

"We can go out all you want when you're all better. How's that sound?"

Nikki nodded, then smiled. "Sounds good to me!"

Foxy and Flo laughed again, and Foxy hugged him. "You are just too silly, buster."

"Where's the doggy?"

"On the bed. He's being a lazy pants and sleeping."

"Can I go wake him up?"

"Maybe later. He had me up all night."

"Why?"

"Because he couldn't get to sleep."

"Why?"

"Because he wanted to play and snuggle."

Nikki giggled. "He's a fun doggy. I like him."

"I'm glad you do. Now that you're here, he'll be with you almost all the time."

"Really?" Nikki asked, awed.

"Yep. He loves little children like you." Foxy gave him a smile, and he looked up at her.

"Do you?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have let you stay with me if I didn't, silly." She gave him a smile, and a hug.

"Does Flo?" He looked at her curiously, and she laughed.

"Of course I do." She gave him a gentle nudge, and he sighed, snuggling into Foxy's grasp.

"Comfy?" She asked with a giggle.

"Yep!" He replied with a big grin, and Foxy laughed.

"You're right, Flo. He is gonna be a ham. I can tell."

Flo smiled, then left the two alone.

"Are you gonna stay with me tonight, too?" He looked up at Foxy, his big brown eyes wide.

"Do you want me to?" She asked, and he nodded. "Then of course I will."

He smiled and hugged her.

* * *

When night fell, Foxy darted outside to tell Fillmore that Nikki wanted her to stay with him again, and was back inside shortly. "Okay. Should I sleep with you, or on the floor again?"

"Right here!" He pointed to a spot on the bed, and she climbed on.

"Here?"

"No, here."

"Here?" She asked again with a grin, and tickled him.

He giggled and squirmed, making her laugh. "Okay, time for bed."

"Can you tell me a story?"

"I sure can. I've got a really good story. I think you'll like it." She began telling him the story of how she had gotten to Radiator Springs, and he listened with rapt attention.

When the story finished, she looked down to find him sound asleep, curled up against her and snuggled under the blanket. She smiled fondly, laid an arm over his tiny form, then drifted to sleep.

Doc rolled by the room, trying not to be too obvious. He glanced in, saw Foxy sleeping at Nikki's side, and chuckled. He continued on to his garage, and settled there for the night.

The next morning, Foxy awoke, momentarily wondering where she was. She looked down, saw Nikki, and instantly remembered the night before. She smiled, then slunk off the bed, trying not to wake him up. She crept out the doors of the clinic, and padded over to Flo's, giving Fillmore a large yawn for a greeting.

He chuckled and nudged her. "Nikki feelin' any better?"

She shrugged and yawned again, making the few who were there laugh. Flo passed her a cup of coffee, which she readily took. "He seems to be a little better. I think he'll really prove to be like me, when I was his age. A complete goofball that makes people laugh just by being themself."

The others chuckled.

Foxy continued drinking her coffee, then once she had finished, she went over to Nikki.

Thunder looked up at her arrival, and wagged his tail from his spot next to Nikki. He had been keeping Nikki warm since Foxy's absence about ten minutes earlier, and Foxy petted him. "Good boy, Thunder. You can go outside if you want to. I'll be in here all day with him." Thunder's tail wagged, and he jumped down from the bed gently. Foxy took his spot, and laid an arm over Nikki again. She gently pulled him closer to her, and curled up around him. She began to think about how her life changed because of Nikki.

Nearly five days ago, she hadn't been worried about a foot-long, injured truck, and now here she was, said truck's new mother. '_You never know what life will throw at you. I guess life decided to throw me a screwball going one-hundred-and-ten miles an hour._' She thought, looking down at the little lump beside her.

As she was about to adjust her position, a yawn from Nikki alerted her to him waking up. "Hi, sweetie. Sleep good?"

He nodded, and yawned again.

"Sounds like someone's still sleepy." She gave him a smile, which he returned with a giggle. "Hmmm..."

As she looked at him, she began to see him getting stir crazy. "Why don't I go ask Doc if I can carry you around outside?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" He exclaimed, scrambling around on the bed and gently butting her in the stomach with his bumper.

"Hey, you little stinker!" She replied before tickling him.

He squealed and squirmed, making Foxy laugh. "I'll go ask. You need to stay on the bed though, all right?"

He nodded, and she smiled, leaving the room. She darted over to Flo's, and asked Doc if he thought Nikki could come out if she carried him.

He nodded, and she grinned.

"Thanks, Doc!"

With that, she flew back into the clinic, making the others chuckle. As soon as she walked into his room, he looked up, still lying on the bed, like she had left him. "He said yes!"

"Yay! Wohoo!" Nikki giggled, attempting to bounce around.

"I don't want you goofing off too much until your axle's all better, okay?"

He nodded, and his face fell.

"I'm not mad, I just don't want you to hurt it worse. If that happens, you'll be stuck in here for forever!"

"Really?"

Foxy nodded, and Nikki nodded. "Okay."

She crouched down, level with the bed, her arms outstretched, and Nikki jumped into them, instantly getting wrapped into a hug. "And we're off!" She exclaimed, sharing a laugh with Nikki.

When they exited the clinic, he began looking around with wonder. "Everything's so big..." He replied in awe, and Foxy smiled.

"Yeah, it is. Even for me." She began pointing out the buildings in the town, and explained who owned them. "They're all over at Flo's Café."

"What's a 'Café'?"

"It's a place to get food and drinks and talk to friends. And it's where we're going." She replied, walking towards the group.

He snuggled deeper into her grasp at the sight of so many others, and she looked down at him. "It's okay, Nikki. I promise. They're all really nice. You'll like them." She gave him a reassuring smile, and he gave her a smaller one. They got there, and Flo rolled over.

"Hi, Nikki."

"Hi, Flo!" He recognized her instantly, and gave her a big grin.

"Nikki, this is Fillmore."

"Hey, man."

"Hi." Nikki replied, giving Fillmore a bashful smile.

"Aww." Sally laughed, and Nikki shrank against Foxy.

"Nikki, you're all right."

Sara came over to Foxy, curious. "Hi. I'm Sara." She gave Nikki a smile, and he gave her one in return.

"I'm Nikki." He replied, and squirmed, wanting to be put down. He looked up at Foxy, and she shook her head.

"Sorry dude. Doc said you can only come outside if I hold you."

"But I wanna get down."

"I know, but I don't want you hurting yourself." Foxy replied, holding firm.

Nikki pouted, and Foxy tickled him, sending him into a giggling fit.

"Are you gonna pout anymore? Huh?" She teased, continuing to tickle him.

"No, no!" He shrieked with laughter, and Foxy stopped.

"That's what I thought." She gave him a smile, and he stuck his tongue out at her. "Hey!" Foxy's jaw dropped as she tried not to laugh. "All right, you. You asked for it!" With that, she began tickling him again, making him squirm and start giggling. "Are you gonna be nice? If not I'll keep tickling you." She threatened, and he nodded, giggling too hard to answer. "Okay, good." She stopped tickling him, and introduced him to the others. "And of course you know Thunder."

Thunder walked over, sat down in front of the two, and licked Nikki, making him giggle.

"Thunder, no!" He exclaimed, and the others laughed.

"He sounds just like you, Foxy!"

"Foxy? Who's that?"

"That's my nickname." She replied, and he looked up at her curiously.

"Why?"

"Because I like the way it sounds."

"Why?"

"Because I do."

"But why?"

"I'm not really sure. I just do."

"But you look more like a puppy then a fox."

The others chuckled.

"You do. Thunder has a collar, and so do you. Thunder has ears and a tail, and so do you."

"A fox is a cousin of a dog."

"Ohhh." He replied, making Foxy laugh.

**Hope you guys like this chapter of Foxy's New Child! I think it's adorable! :)**


	3. Nikki's Nightmare

He spent the day outside, in Foxy's grasp, interacting with the others. He was a little wary of Lightning, and Foxy tried to get him to see that Lightning was nice.

* * *

When the day ended, it found Nikki fast asleep in Foxy's arms, his front bumper buried into her left shoulder.

"He's exhausted." Sheriff chuckled, seeing the little truck.

"I guess we wore him out." Foxy replied brightly, and the others laughed quietly. She hoisted him up a little better in her grasp, and took him over to the clinic after bidding the others goodnight.

She took him through the doors, down the hallway, and into the room, and was just about to set him down on the bed, when she felt him stir.

"Hmm?" He mumbled, and Foxy looked over at him.

His eyes were half open, and he looked more then half asleep. "Shhh, go back to bed. It's all right."

He whimpered and burrowed his bumper into her shoulder, and she began pacing the room, trying to get him to fall back asleep.

"_I'm fifteen, for a moment. Caught in between ten and twenty, and I'm just dreaming, counting the ways, to where you are. I'm twenty-two, for a moment. She feels better then ever, and we're on fire making our way back from Mars. Fifteen, there's still time for you. Time to buy and time to lose. Fifteen, there's never a wish better then this. When you've only got hundred years to live._"

As she was singing, she began rocking him gently, unsure of why. It just seemed to be the right thing to do.

"_I'm thirty-three, for a moment. Still the man, but you see I'm of age. A kid on the way, babe, a family on my mind. I'm forty-five, for a moment. The sea is high, and I'm heading into a crisis. Chasing the years of my life. Fifteen, there's still time for you. Time to buy and time to lose yourself within a morning star. Fifteen, I'm all right with you. Fifteen, there's never a wish better then this. When you've only got hundred years to live, half time goes by, and suddenly you're wise. Another blink of an eye, and sixty-seven is gone. The sun is getting high, we're moving on._"

She continued rocking and pacing the floor, unsure if he was asleep or not. She took a peek, and smiled, seeing that he was.

"_I'm ninety-nine, for a moment. Dying for just another moment, and I'm just dreaming. Counting the ways, to where you are. Fifteen, there's still time for you. Twenty-two, I feel her too. Thirty-three, you're on your way. Every day's a new day._"

Unbeknownst to her, Doc had paused at the wall to listen, his hood tilted. He had heard the song before. As Foxy continued, he rolled towards his garage, her quiet tones following him.

"_Fifteen, there's still time for you. Time to buy and time to choose. Hey fifteen, there's never a wish better then this. When you've only got hundred years to live._"

As she finished, she gently set Nikki on the mattress, and laid the blanket over him. She gently laid down on the bed with him, and fell asleep soon after.

At a whimper and movement at her side, she was instantly awake. Nikki was shivering and trying to burrow into her side, whimpering the entire time. Foxy was able to decipher some of the whimpering as phrases of panic.

"No, stop, daddy, no!" He exclaimed quietly, and Foxy tried to wake him up.

"Nikki, Nikki, come on, it's okay. You're okay."

With a quiet yelp, Nikki jolted awake, his brown eyes wide with fear and panic.

"Nikki, what happened?"

His response was muffled as he dove into Foxy's grasp, burrowing into her sweatshirt frantically. Soon, he was hiding in her pocket and shaking.

"Nikki, come out and let's talk about it." She tried to convince him to come out, but he shook his hood and refused. Foxy gingerly pulled him out of her sweatshirt pocket, and hugged him tightly, his bumper pressed against her shoulder.

His whimpers turned to quiet sobs, and Foxy stood up and began pacing the room.

"Ohh, Nikki. Why won't you tell me what it was? It helps."

His quiet bawling nearly broke her heart, and she tried everything she could think of to comfort him. It was a bewildered, lost sounding noise, and she began to worry that he would never stop. "Nikki, Nikki, Nikki, just calm down and tell me what the dream was about." When he began hiccuping and wiping his eyes, signaling that he was going to stop, Foxy sighed. "There, that's better, right?"

He nodded, and took a few shaky breaths.

"Let's go for a walk, okay? Then that way you can tell me all about it."

He nodded, and she took off her sweatshirt to wrap it around him. He was so tiny, he fit in the hood perfectly.

The two went outside, and for almost half an hour Foxy walked him up and down the road, quietly talking about his nightmare. It was freezing outside, and Foxy was glad that she had wrapped him in her sweatshirt.

* * *

Around five in the morning, he finally fell asleep again, and Foxy sighed with relief.

As the sun began to peek over the horizon, she took him back to the clinic, which Doc was just entering.

"You're up early."

"No, I'm up late. Nikki was up at about two in the morning. It took me forever to get him back to sleep." She replied with a yawn, and Doc sighed, shooing her inside so she could set him back in his bed.

She didn't remember falling asleep again, but when she finally woke up, Nikki was nudging her gently, whispering "Foxy. Foxy. Foxy."

"Huwhuhwozat?" She mumbled, sitting bolt upright.

Nikki squealed in surprise, and Foxy jumped.

"Nikki?"

"Foxy? Are you awake now?"

"Yeah, I'm awake now."

"When did you get up?"

"A long time ago. Doc told me to wake you up."

"Sure did, Nikki." Doc chuckled, rolling into the room.

"Did I do good?"

"You sure did." Doc replied, making the little truck giggle.

"Yay! I scared Foxy!" He exclaimed, tackling her and hugging her tightly.

"Geez, I swear you get stronger every day!" She exclaimed in surprise, making him laugh. She tickled him, and stood up, stretching.

At a repeated butting to her legs, she turned around to find Nikki looking up at her eagerly. "Are we gonna go outside?"

"Since I need coffee, yes."

"What's coffee?"

"It's a drink that gives you lots and lots of energy, but little boys aren't allowed to have it."

"Why?"

"Because little boys are hyper enough. They don't need it."

"Aww..."

"Nope. I'll give you a sip of it when you're able to run around like a madman. A sip." She scooped him up, and carried him outside.

When she sat down at Fillmore's side, Nikki began squirming frantically. "Down!" He exclaimed, and Foxy only held him more tightly.

"Not yet, Nikki. Your axle isn't completely healed yet."

"Let him down, and see what he does." Doc replied, and Foxy looked over at him curiously.

"You sure?"

He nodded, and she looked down at Nikki, who was watching her intently. "...All right..." With that, she set him down on the pavement.

He rolled experimentally forwards for about a foot, then whirled around and pounced Foxy, giggling like a madman. "I got you!" With that, he bounced off her, and soon was off on a one-car game of hide and seek.

"Nikki... where'd you go?"

"Rawr!" Foxy squealed in surprise, making Nikki laugh. Like that, he was off again, hiding somewhere else.

The others were watching the entire display, their laughter in the background not helping Foxy find Nikki. Foxy found him again, and decided to try her hand at sneaking up on Nikki. She came up behind Nikki, and grabbed him. "Gotcha!"

It was his turn to squeal, and the two giggled.

"Set him down, you said. See what happens, you said." Foxy sighed, looking over at Doc.

He was showing absolutely no remorse whatsoever as he chuckled, watching Nikki fly in circles around Foxy when she sat down.

"Nikki, why don't you go play with Thunder? I'm sure he'd love to play with you."

"I wanna play with you, Foxy."

"Of course you do. All right, munchkin. What are we gonna do?"

"Climb up there!" He announced triumphantly pointing at the cliffs that held Wheel Well.

"Not today. Why don't we just stay down here, and see who can sit here the longest?"

The others chuckled, and Nikki nodded. "Okay!" With that, he plopped down in Foxy's lap, making her laugh. "Oh, do I get my sip of coffee now?"

Doc chuckled and gave her a look, as though saying " You put your own foot in your mouth with this one."

"Yes. But a sip. No more." He nodded, and Foxy had an idea. "I'll give you what's left in the cup after I take two sips. That sound good?"

He nodded, and she took two mouthfuls before handing the cup to him, making sure that there was some left, no more then a swig. Since her coffee was cold, she was reassured that he wouldn't burn his mouth, like he would have if she ordered another.

He looked at the cup curiously, unsure of how to get at the little bit of coffee. A spark in his eyes told the others he had an idea, and he rolled back onto his pickup bed, using all four of his tires to grasp the cup and tilt the cold coffee into his mouth.

"He's smart for a little guy." Lightning replied, finding himself chuckling.

As soon as the coffee was in his mouth, Nikki's features twisted. He looked up at Foxy, and she sighed.

"You wanted to try it."

He swallowed, then stuck his tongue out. "Bleghh!"

Foxy laughed at his reaction, and patted his hood. "I never said it tasted good."

He shook his hood, his tiny tongue flopping from side to side as he shut his eyes.

The others chuckled, and Foxy nudged him. "You wanna go for a drive to text out your axle?"

He nodded, and Foxy stood up. He butted her in the legs eagerly, then drove in circles around her feet.

"Okay, okay, we're going!" She laughed, then picked him up and tickling him. She set him down, then led him towards the Butte. She was surprised to hear Fillmore following her. She turned around, still walking, and gave him a smile.

He chuckled, and rolled to her side.

She was having to walk faster and faster, and tripped on a rock, sending herself into an extremely long barrel roll.

"Foxy!" Nikki exclaimed, racing over to her. "Are you okay?"

Foxy stood up, and staggered left and right, her eyeballs rolling around like marbles. "Yeah, that was fun! Let's do it again!" She exclaimed, still wobbling around.

Fillmore and Nikki laughed, then Nikki wrapped around Foxy's legs, his engine purring.

She shook her head fiercely, then looked around. "Whew, that was fun. Now, about that drive... you ready, Nikki?"

He nodded rapidly, and Foxy smiled. The two began slowly lapping the track, and soon Fillmore joined in.

"I'm bored." Nikki announced after a few minutes of silence, and Foxy laughed.

"How about... YOU'RE IT!" She exclaimed, tagging Fillmore and bolting away. "RUN, NIKKI!" She screamed with laughter, as Fillmore was gaining on her. She doubled back towards Nikki, and without slowing down, reached down and scooped him up. "Gotcha!" "Run, Nikki! SAVE YOURSELF!" She laughed, going into a slide to release Nikki seconds before Fillmore tagged her.

Nikki raced away, and Foxy scrambled away form Fillmore, laughing like a lunatic.

"Now I'm it! Run, Nikki! Run!" She replied with an evil laugh, shuffling after him.

He squealed and darted for the track, giggling nonstop. She caught him, then slid in a semicircle before jogging away from him, giving him the feeling that he was gaining on her. He leaped at her legs, tackled them, and sent her to the ground.

"Oh, no! You got me! And you're really strong, Nikki..."

Nikki giggled, then poked her. "You're it!" He exclaimed, running away, giggling.

Fillmore chuckled, and Foxy got to her feet, before chasing after Fillmore as fast as she could go.

Nikki watched with wonder as Foxy was slowly but surely gaining on Fillmore. Foxy reached out a hand as she leaped, getting his back bumper and sliding underneath him feet first. She was actually going fast enough that she shot out from underneath Fillmore's front bumper, and slid a few more feet before stopping. She was lying flat on her back in the dirt, staring up into Fillmore's eyes, which were wide. She was out of breath from her slide and her burst of speed, but she managed to gasp out, "I...believe... that... you're it..."

"That was totally groovy, man..." He replied in awe, and Foxy gave him a smile, still panting slightly.

"Thanks..."

"Foxy, that was so cool!" Nikki exclaimed, coming over, then pouncing on her in a tight hug.

Foxy gasped for breath, then hugged him back. "Thanks, Nikki...Whew... I probably won't... pull off anything that... exciting for... a few months, so... be prepared for it..."

Nikki giggled, then got off her, allowing her to stand up and rid herself of the dust and dirt.

She shook it out of her hair, then looked up at Fillmore with a grin. "Didn't think I'd catch you, eh?"

He shook his front with a grin.

"I was determined. That was pure determination, that was."

"Yeah, okay. Why ain't ya gonna admit that you're fast?"

"Because I'm not. I tried out for track, and they told me I wasn't fast enough."

Fillmore sighed, then Nikki latched onto her legs, climbing up to her shoulder.

"But Foxy, you're super fast!"

"How'd you-Never mind." She sighed, about to ask how he had climbed up her like a ladder.

Fillmore chuckled, and ruffled her hair, then Nikki's roof.

"Heyy!" They replied in unison, and looked at each other.

The three burst out laughing, and Foxy lifted Nikki off her shoulder. "I think we've had enough fun for now. Although, we could try swimming. Would you want to do that, Nikki?"

He nodded eagerly, and Foxy smiled. "All right, then let's get Red. I taught him how to swim."

"Okay!"

The three headed back to the town, and Foxy called Red. "You want to help me teach Nikki to swim?"

Red nodded, and Foxy stepped up onto his running board, holding onto Nikki tightly. They were off, and soon reached the waterfall.

Foxy stepped off first, and smiled up at Red. "Thanks, Red." She gave him a smile, and he blushed before nudging her gently. "Now, we're going to stay in the shallow water, okay Nikki?"

Nikki nodded, and Foxy stepped into the water. "It's cold, so just watch out." She cautioned, but he rolled right in. "Only you, Nikki." She said with a laugh.

"Yep!" He replied with a big grin, making her and Red laugh.

"Okay, Red. Your turn."

Red nodded, and got into the water in a deeper part, and began paddling.

"Can you do that?" Foxy asked, holding him up. He watched Red intently, then looked down at his tires. He turned it sideways, and experimentally splashed. He smiled, then tried the other tire. Soon, he was paddling rapidly, looking like a miniature speedboat as Foxy trundled along, holding on to him firmly. "That's your front ones. Can you get your back ones?"

Red continued paddling back and forth in front of the two, showing Nikki how it was done.

This time, Nikki seemed to know what to do, and wanted Foxy to let go.

"How about if I hold you up, and we try a little deeper?"

Nikki nodded, and Foxy went out about a foot deeper, then began holding him up as he doggy-paddled around.

Well, splashed and made it look like doggy-paddling.

* * *

At the end of the day, Foxy was soaked, and she had only gone in up to her waist. "Oh, Nikki..." She laughed, shaking herself off.

Nikki tried to copy her, but went down to his rear left quarter panel, blinking in surprise.

"You all right, Nikki?" Foxy asked, giving him a smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He got up, then gave her a smile in return.

"Good. Thanks again for helping us, Red." Foxy looked over to the fire truck with a smile, which he returned.

**Sorry for the late update, if you read the most recent chapter of IAHGIACW you'll find out why. :/ Anyways, did I get Nikki's reaction right for the nightmare? EmilyTheBrave, I'm glad that you like this story! :)**


	4. Nikki's Hide and Seek Trick

The three headed back to the town, Nikki falling asleep at about the halfway point.

"Looks like you tired him out." Lightning gave her a smile, rolling to her side.

"Yeah, I just hope that I can keep doing that. At least until school starts for him."

"Then he'll be outta here during the day, and someone else will need to deal with him."

"Yes, Light. That's what will happen."

Lightning snickered, then his expression became serious. "What're you going to do about you and going to races?"

"I could keep him in my trailer, but I think he would get bored..."

"Not if you check on him every once in a while. And give him coloring books."

"Of course! How didn't I think of it? Light, you're a genius. I owe you!" She whispered before heading into the clinic to put Nikki into his bed. She exited a few minutes later, and headed over to her trailer to begin the task of making a coloring book for Nikki.

The next morning, she awoke in her trailer, and bolted upright. "Ohh, crap! Nikki!" She exclaimed, booking it for the clinic.

When she got there, Doc was just exiting with Nikki in tow, blinking sleepily. "Was he all right? I was working on a surprise for him, and I must've fallen asleep in my trailer."

"He was fine. Was rolling by when he woke up, so I figured I'd bring him out."

"Hi, Foxy!" Nikki finally seemed somewhat awake, and launched himself at her, pinning her to the ground in a hug.

"Hi, Nikki. I'm sorry that I wasn't there, but I was busy making you a surprise."

"What is it?"

"You'll get it soon enough. I want it to be a super-duper surprise for you, and it isn't done yet. I've still got about half of it to do, since it's really big."

"What're ya makin'?" Doc muttered, understanding that she wanted to keep it a secret.

"Coloring book. A giant one." She replied.

"He'll like that."

Foxy gave him a grin, and watched as Nikki zipped back and forth in front of them, always keeping about three feet in between them and him, in case something happened. "He sure won't be bored." She replied with a small laugh, seeing him zoom into Flo's as fast as he could.

The two entered after Nikki, only to find that he had found a new friend-in the form of a spider. Foxy gasped and backed up when Nikki rolled over to her with the creature on his hood.

"Look what I found, Foxy!"

Doc tried not to laugh, knowing what was coming.

"N-Nikki, let's, let's not play with those." She replied shakily, watching the spider warily.

"Why not? I like him."

"I don't."

"Why?" Nikki asked, rolling closer, curious.

"Because, th- hmmm..." Foxy stayed where she was, thinking hard. "You know, I don't know why I don't like them. I just don't."

"If he was able to put it there, it clearly won't hurt anyone." Lightning replied, giving her a look and a nudge towards it.

She hesitated, but sighed and crept forward towards the spider. Lightning nudged her roughly towards it, sending her forwards in a hop.

"Hey! I'm goin', I'm goin'!"

The others chuckled, and finally Foxy was in front of Nikki. "Now reach down and pick it up." She gave Lightning a look like he was insane. "Go ahead. We've got all day." He replied with a grin, rolling back into his parking spot. Just then, she noticed that the others were watching with interest.

"Oh, come on. You guys aren't seriously going to make me do this, right?"

"I'll dare ya to do it. Then I know you'll do it." Sheriff challenged, looking like he was enjoying himself.

"That's not fair, you know I can't turn down a dare."

"Then don't." With that, he looked over at Mater, who was grinning.

"Come on, you guys. This is insane."

"Baby."

Foxy turned to look at Mater sharply. "What was that?"

He began clucking loudly, and the others began laughing.

"Now I'll show all of you!" With that, she reached down, held her had there for the spider to crawl onto, and raised it when it did.

"Never fails." Lightning chuckled, bumping tires with Mater.

"Okay, this is fun and all, laughing at my expense, but can we get this thing off me before it bites? I really would like to live through the day."

"Let her go. She finally picked it up."

"Thank you." Foxy replied, before gently setting the large tarantula on the ground behind Flo's.

"There now, that wasn't that bad, right?"

With a deadpan look, Foxy replied, "That was the worst three minutes of my life."

The others chuckled, and Foxy picked Nikki up.

"Are you scared of spiders, Foxy?"

"You'd better believe it."

"Then why'd you pick it up?"

"Because I know that they'd keep bugging me about it." She replied, looking directly at Mater and Lightning, who gave her identical evil grins.

Nikki giggled. "But spiders aren't scary. They're just like Spidervan."

"But Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider. And no, I forbid you from going after that spider and trying to get it to bite you." She replied quickly, seeing him about to start squirming.

"Aww." He pouted, and Foxy chuckled, sitting down with him in her grasp, still wary that he would try something.

"Can I get down now?"

"Are you gonna be good? And not go after the spider?"

"I wanna play with Mater."

She set him down for an answer, and he zipped off across the café to play with Mater and Lightning. Foxy watched him go, then stood up and eyed Lightning craftily. She pounced onto his hood, lifted Nikki up and set him down, all in one movement.

"Geez, Foxy!"

"Hi, Light. That's payback for egging him on." She cocked a thumb in Mater's direction, and Mater snickered.

"All right, we're even."

"Want to play hide and seek? I'll bet I can beat you, like the last time!"

"Where are we gonna play it?"

"Anywhere."

"Awesome."

"You want to play too, Nikki?"

"Yeah! I love hide and seek!"

"Then I want you to hide just around here. That way, if you get lost, I'll be able to find you easier."

"Okay." He gave her a smile, then the game began.

"But first, you've gotta show me where you were hiding last time."

"All right. Nikki, you hide, then I'll come seeking in a few minutes."

"Okay, Foxy." With that, he took off like a shot. Foxy and Lightning took off for the forest, and Foxy climbed a tree.

"It was farther in, but you get the basics."

"So you climbed the tree... clever.."

"Thanks. I learned that trick a few years ago."

He took her back to town, then darted off, telling her to come looking for him after Nikki was found. And so she began searching, looking along the ground. She didn't bother checking any higher then the ground, since he was a truck, she guessed that he would look for a rock to hide behind, or a building, or something.

What she didn't know was that Nikki could climb pretty high. She heard twigs snapping above her head, and looked up into the dead tree by Lizzie's to see... nothing. She sighed, passed it off as a squirrel, and continued.

"TRACTORABUNGA!" With that, she was slammed into the ground, the only way to tell what had hit her was by the giggling.

"Nikki! You little bugger!"

The others laughed, having seen him pounce her from the tree.

"How'd you get up there?"

"I climbed."

"You can climb trees?" He nodded, and Foxy looked at him in disbelief.

"Show me."

"Okay!" He went over to the tree, and straddled one of the branches with his tires. He began inching along it until he was close to the trunk, and using the crook of the branch where it met the trunk, he was able to pull himself up. He jumped to the next branch, and did the same thing, until he was looking down on Foxy.

"Not bad, Nikki." She gave him a smile, and he jumped towards her. She caught him, and he was instantly wrapped in a hug. "Now, we need to find Light. You wanna come help?"

"Yeah!"

She picked him up, hoisted him onto her shoulders, holding onto his back tires as he placed his front tires on her head for balance. The two set off for the forest, goofing off as they went.

Foxy was currently Nikki's horse, and did a very passable imitation of one. He was giggling wildly, and Foxy calmed him down as they neared the forest. "Shh, let's sneak up on him."

"Okay, that's fun!" Nikki whispered with a quiet giggle.

Foxy crept into the forest, still holding Nikki on her shoulders. He was now able to see higher then she could, and he directed her quietly through the underbrush. He spotted a red object in the brush, in shadow, and Nikki whispered that he was to the right of her. Foxy changed angles, and Nikki told her that she was heading straight for him.

"GOTCHA!" He exclaimed, leaping at the shape.

Lightning jumped in surprise, and took off, Nikki clinging to his tailfin for dear life.

Foxy bolted after the two, jumping onto his trunk. She grabbed Nikki, then held onto Lightning's tailfin tightly as he sped back towards town. "Victory! I can find anyone!" She replied triumphantly as Lightning finally stopped in front of Flo's.

The others laughed, and Lightning flopped down in the middle of the road, panting.

**The newest chapter about little Nikki is here! In this, Nikki forces Foxy to face her worst fear. Which she does, for about five seconds. xD **

**The group also play hide and seek, and Nikki can climb trees(who knew a truck could climb trees?) Foxy had better be extra careful when searching for him next time. :D**

**When will the coloring book be finished? Will Nikki like it? Will he be allowed to go to races? Find out as the story goes on! :D**


	5. Foxy Gets Stuck in a Tree

Thunder barked from the road, and Foxy looked over his way. In his jaws, he was carrying the carcass of the mountain lion. "Good boy, Thunder." Foxy called with a smile, then hopped off Lightning. "Nikki, why don't you hang out with the others? I'm gonna go help Thunder with the lion, okay?"

"What're you gonna do to the scary kitty?"

"I'm gonna make sure he isn't gonna attack me, first of all, then I'm going to see if I can make it into a rug, for my trailer. I'm gonna give the meat to Thunder."

"He eats mountain lion?"

"Yep. He loves it. I'll never know why. It's too chewy for me." She made a face, and Nikki giggled.

"Okay. See you soon, Foxy!"

"Bye, Nikki." She gave him a smile, then went with Thunder to an abandoned building to skin it, after looking around for any more mountain lions. She dragged it inside, pulled out her knife, then set to work.

Thunder sat at the door, and after about three hours, Foxy brought him a large chunk of meat. "Should we make a fire, and roast it?"

Thunder barked happily, and Foxy smiled.

She quickly made a fire, then shoved a stick through the chunk. She got two more sticks, each one forked, then she set the stick with the meat on it over the fire using the forked sticks. "Now it won't be in the fire, but it will have a nice smokehouse flavor." She gave him a smile, then ruffled his ears, the blood from the lion long since washed away.

He laid down and stared at the meat for a while, whining eagerly.

When Foxy deemed it ready, she slid it off the stick, and gave it to him. It was gone in seconds. "Good, boy, Thunder! I think you liked it that way, huh?"

Thunder barked eagerly, making Foxy laugh. "I'll make it that way from now on." With that, she began roasting the rest of it, feeding it to him in intervals.

Finally, the meat was gone, and it was quite late. "All right, let's get going, boy."

Thunder looked up at her sleepily, stretched out on his side by the fire, completely content.

Foxy giggled, seeing him.

He sighed, then stood up and stretched.

Foxy made sure the fire was out, then the two headed out. Along the way, Foxy made sure to stay near Thunder, and they made it home without incident. When they got there, a small, dark object launched itself at her legs. "Hi, Nikki." She picked the shape up, and noticed that he was grinning. "What're you so happy about, goof?"

"I get to leave Doc's tonight and sleep with you!" He giggled, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Good! You're gonna like it with us."

"Us? You and Thunder?"

"No, me and Fillmore."

"Ohhhh. Yay!"

"Oh, Nikki. Nikki, Nikki, Nikki." She chuckled, hugging him tightly. The two went over to the dome, Fillmore not far behind. When they got there, Foxy smiled. "Here's your new home, Nikki. It's even got a tree for us to climb in."

"Yay!" Nikki yawned widely, and Foxy scooped him up.

"Right now, it's time for bed."

"Aww, do I have to?" He asked, getting cut off mid-way by another yawn.

"Yeah. Otherwise, you won't come outside the dome tomorrow. Then while everybody's having fun, you'll be stuck inside."

"Then let's hurry up and go to bed!"

Fillmore chuckled at Nikki's logic, and the three went inside, Fillmore turning off the neon that surrounded his dome. Foxy set Nikki down, and he made a beeline for her chair. She smiled, then folded up the lion skin so the untreated underside wouldn't ruin Fillmore's carpet. She giggled at how Nikki had taken up the entire chair for himself. "Scoot over, buddy-boy. That's my chair too." She gave him a smile, and he did. Foxy settled down beside him, curling up. She pulled the blanket up over the two of them, and soon Nikki was asleep. Foxy smiled at Fillmore.

Whispering goodnight to him, she relaxed under the warm blanket and soon drifted to sleep. Fillmore smiled, nuzzled her hair gently, then settled down on his mattress.

* * *

Foxy was awakened early the next morning by quiet giggles and whispers.

"ATTACK!"

She shrieked as she was pinned down by a small body, then tickled mercilessly by a tire. Giggling nonstop, she wiggled around in the chair fiercely, trying to get loose.

Finally, chuckling, Fillmore stopped tickling her and she could get up.

"WHY did I ever think that you two wouldn't team up against me?" She asked in exasperation, flopping back onto the chair.

Nikki pounced onto her back again, poking her in the sides and exclaiming, "Up, Foxy! Up! Up, Foxy! Up!"

"Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up." She replied, sitting up and yawning.

"She needs more of that yucky-tasting coffee, stat!" Nikki announced, imitating one of the shows he had seen on television.

Foxy giggled, then picked him up and tickled him. "That's payback, buster." She whispered to him, trying not to grin.

"Let's go get your yucky coffee!"

Foxy laughed, then set him down. She arose from the chair, and stretched, then headed out the doorway with the two.

Nikki came speeding out from between her legs, nearly giving her a heart attack.

"Nikki!" She exclaimed, and he just giggled, the sound floating back to her as he sped away. "Fillmore, remind me why I ever thought I could handle the ball of energy."

"I dunno, man." He replied, chuckling quietly.

"And I thought I was insane. He's worse then me. He actually makes me look somewhat boring." She complained, and Fillmore just chuckled. She had her coffee, and made sure to ask Flo for plenty of sugar in it.

"You'd better not go completely nuts on us again."

"It's to keep up with Nikki."

Sheriff chuckled, then replied, "He went by not too long ago. Ya might wanna check the forest."

"Good idea, Sheriff." With that, she began drinking her coffee, and the others braced for anything. Thankfully, all that happened was Foxy shooting up out of a sitting position, hurriedly jabbering something about finding Nikki, then she was off like a shot down the road.

"Nikki'd better watch out." Lightning chuckled, seeing the thin wisp of dust Foxy had left behind.

She soon found him, climbing a tree and giggling. "Hi, Nikki!" She scrambled up the tree closest to his, and gave him a grin.

"Hi, Foxy!" He giggled.

"Are we climbing trees today? Fun!" She exclaimed, then began swinging from tree to tree around Nikki, using the branches as monkey bars.

"Wow, Foxy. You're really good at that." Nikki replied, sitting on a thick branch with his tires wrapped around it, like a leopard.

"Thanks, Nikki." She replied, swinging from a branch, then letting go, only to land on a branch above him. She gave him a smile, and suddenly, she stiffened.

Staring her down was a bushy-tailed, furry, nut-stashing rodent of evil. A squirrel. She growled at it, but it didn't move. She growled again, and its tail twitched. She barked sharply, and it chattered at her, then chucked a walnut at her. "Hey!" She exclaimed, then leaped at it. It dodged, and she landed on the branch. "You little piece of meat! C'mere! I'll show you what happens to entrees when they decide to fight back!"

With that, she began to give chase, calling back to Nikki, "Go wait by the road. This shouldn't take long!"

Nikki nodded, and began climbing down, hearing Foxy's barking in the distance. He was just hopping down from the last branch, when he heard a gunshot, then a yelp. "Foxy!" With that, he quickly took off towards the sounds. "Foxy, are you all right? Foxy? Where are you?" He kept calling, in case it was a hunter.

"Nikki..."

He gasped at the voice, then went towards it. "Foxy! Are you all right?" He looked up at her, where she was dangling on a branch.

"Yeah, I didn't get shot, if that's what you were thinking. The squirrel did."

"And a mighty fine huntin' tool yer friend is, little buddy!" An older-looking truck came rolling out of some bushes, painted dull brown and wearing a large, florescent orange baseball cap. He rolled up to the dead squirrel, which was lying on the ground, bleeding. The truck picked it up by the tail and whistled. "Yep! I reckon he'll taste mighty fine tonight! Thank ya fer leadin' 'im right to me!" He grinned up at Foxy, who gave him a smile and a wave of the hand in return.

"No problem. Now, Nikki. Stay there. I need to figure out how to get down."

He nodded, and moved closer to the trunk so the truck could get by.

Foxy's predicament, however, wasn't as easy to get out of as she thought. She had been startled by the gunshot, and had missed the branch. Instead, she had fallen straight down for a few frightening seconds, then her stomach had hit the thick branch she was now stuck on, effectively stranding her there. Finally, she sighed and gave up. "Nikki, go get Mater. Or one of the others. It doesn't matter, but just remember where I'm at, okay?"

He nodded, and made his way back towards town.

Foxy sighed, and looked down at the ground. She tried kicking her feet to see if it would make her slide off, but no such luck. She tried to reach for the closest branch, with the same results, and she sighed again. She was stuck. Finally, she heard Nikki's voice returning, and she called to them. "I'm over here!"

"Foxy?"

"Yeah, I'm up in the tree, so make sure you look up!" The car that came crashing through the bushes made her groan and want to die. Lightning. Of course.

Lightning spotted her, and froze. The sight of Foxy draped over the branch like a towel draped over a drying rack was shocking. "Foxy? What're you doing up there?!"

"Oh, you know, just... hanging out." She replied, and he snorted.

"Cute. Hey, listen. I... don't think I'll be able to get you down..."

"Not surprising. Nikki, you go back with Lightning, and come back with whoever else is coming to get me down! You got that, mister?!"

"Yes, Foxy!" He called back, and Foxy smiled.

"Good."

Lightning and Nikki left shortly, leaving Foxy to her thoughts again. She sighed heavily, boredom setting in. "What to do..." She looked around for something to ease her boredom, but nothing showed itself to her. She had a sudden idea, and dug through her mind for a sufficient track. When she found one, she smiled. "_You don't know how you met me, you don't know why, you can't turn around and say goodbye. All you know is when I'm with you, I make you free, and swim through your veins like a fish in the sea. I'm singin, 'Follow me, and everything is all right, I'll be the one to tuck you in at night. And if you, wanna leave, I can guarantee, you won't find nobody else like me.' I'm not worried, 'bout the ring you wear, 'cause as long as no one knows then nobody can care. You're feelin' guilty, and I'm well aware, but you don't look ashamed and baby I'm not scared. I'm singin, 'Follow me, everything is all right. I'll be the one to tuck you in at night. And if you wanna leave, I can guarantee, you won't find nobody else like me._'"

Foxy hummed along with the song's instrumental, her head swaying from side to side. '_This isn't so bad, now that I think about it._' She kept her thoughts to herself, however, and started in on the second part.

"_Won't give you money, can't give you the sky, you're better off if you don't ask why. I'm not the reason you go astray, we'll be all right if you don't ask me to STAAAAAYYYY-_"

She was cut off abruptly when she happened to look down and find Doc, Sheriff, Mater, and Lightning parked below her, Nikki riding in Mater's bed.

**LOLOLOLOL at the last part! She's been caught! xD I don't own the song, Uncle Cracker does. It's one of my favorites, but I couldn't find anywhere to put it into the story where it would fit. I finally figured out that Foxy becomes bored when she's stuck in a tree, and thus, becomes a walking music player. xD Or hanging music player, if you wish. **

**BTW, the reason I'm updating so late today is because A: I'm not sure when everyone gets let out of school, so I'm trying to upload these so everyone can read them without school getting in the way. and B: I was taking a three hour nap. XD **

**Look for the next chapter for something shocking, and heartwarming at the same time! :)**


	6. Foxy's Concussion Confession

At once, the group started laughing, and Foxy blushed.

"Maybe I was wrong. She seems to be having fun, so let's leave her here." Lightning replied, snickering quietly so Foxy couldn't hear.

Doc chuckled, then looked up at Foxy. "I think you're right, kid. She belongs up in a tree."

"Yeah, 'cause she's a nut!" Mater replied in one of the few shining moments where he understood the joke.

The others laughed loudly at this, the fact that Mater had perfectly completed a joke.

"Come on, you guys can't leave me stuck up here forever!"

"Watch us." Lightning replied, rolling towards the hole they had made in the underbrush.

"Come on you guys! I'm begging you! Get me down from here!"

"All right, we've messed with her enough. Let's get 'er down. Mater?"

"Sure thing, Sheriff." Mater nodded once, then drove back in, calling up for her to catch.

"Catch what?" She nearly screamed at his hook came hurtling towards her face. She grabbed it tightly, and he began pulling. She felt herself slip, and for a split second, it was like time froze. "Uh-oh." Was all Foxy had time to say before she was pulled, screaming, back down towards the ground. "MATEEEERRRR!" Her voice gradually got louder and louder as she got closer and closer to the ground.

"Dadgum!" He exclaimed, then moved into a position to catch her with his truck bed.

She braced for the impact, but was met with a tree branch the width of her torso that knocked the breath out of her. It also knocked the tow hook out of her hands, and she plummeted straight down, into the other tree branches.

With each hit she took, the group winced and cringed as one. Thankfully, it slowed her descent until the last branch, where she slid off of it and down onto a bush with a crash.

Nikki was out of Mater's truck bed and at her side in seconds, looking up at her. "Foxy, are you okay?" He nudged her with his front bumper, and the movement sent her sliding off the bush and onto the ground, like a giant snake. "Foxy, wake up." He nudged her again, almost seeming to beg her to awaken.

The others waited anxiously, the tense moments that went by feeling like hours.

She began stirring, her eyelids fluttering open. The others could see that her eyes were crossed, and Lightning pulled Nikki back with a tire gently.

Nikki seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation, for he just climbed onto Lightning's hood and laid down, watching Foxy worriedly.

Doc rolled closer to her, and nudged her with a tire. "Hey, kid, can you hear me?"

All he got out of her was a moan. "She should be all right tomorrow. For now, though, let's see if we can get her up."

Lightning picked her up and set her on his hood, where she sprawled out, too dazed to do anything.

Nikki curled up and burrowed into her side, remaining silent.

Lightning could tell that he was frightened by what had happened. Heck, he himself still was. It would only make sense that a car Nikki's age would be terrified. He looked down at the two sadly, then rolled out of the woods after Doc and Sheriff.

Mater was following along behind him, and he could hear the tow truck fretting quietly about what had happened. Finally, he turned around to comfort him. "Mater, listen. She'll be okay. I know she will. Remember that time she was chasing her tail and her head connected with the beam? She was up in about twenty minutes."

"But Lightnin', I done felt 'er let go o' my hook, an' there weren't nothin' I coulda done, an'-"

"Mater, it wasn't your fault. She hit the tree branch, and it knocked it out of her hands. There was nothing anybody could've done. If anything, I could've caught her, but I didn't. Things like this just happen sometimes. Well, with Foxy it happens more often then that, but you know."

Mater smiled at that, and Lightning chuckled a little. "The best thing we can do is leave these two alone, and see what happens." As he said that, he could see Foxy starting to come around, out of the dead-fish-stare stage.

"Foxy?" Nikki whimpered, and she moaned quietly.

"Hi, Nikki." She winced as she tried to sit up, but instead laid down again, clutching her head. "Ahh, da-mmmmm... Heh heh..." She had spotted Nikki before it was too late, and hastily shut her mouth over the curse that had been about to come flying out. "Crap... what happened? I feel like George of the jungle or something."

"Who?"

"Never mind. Ohh, crap." She groaned, and Nikki burrowed into her side again. "Hi, Nikki."

"Foxy, are you gonna be okay?" He asked, looking up at her with big brown eyes.

"Yeah, I should be once my nuclear headache goes away." She moaned again, shut her eyes tightly, and rolled over, trying to block out the sunlight.

Nikki came up to her shoulder and curled up against her head and neck, trying to make her feel better. She wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer, making him smile and snuggle into her even more.

Lightning looked down at the two and smiled. He nudged Mater, but warned him to be quiet.

Mater looked down at the two, and grinned.

"Foxy, I'm gonna drop you and Nikki off in my cone, if you want?" Lightning asked quietly, and he watched as Foxy nodded. "All right." With that, he rolled into the cone, then gently deposited her on the couch, Nikki hopping off and joining her. Once he had made sure the two would be all right, he rolled out of the cone, figuring that Foxy wanted as little noise as possible at the moment.

She quickly fell asleep, thinking that falling asleep would get rid of her massive headache.

At some point, Thunder had come into the room, and had seen her and Nikki. He trotted over to Nikki and licked him, his tail wagging.

"Hi, Thunder." Nikki gave the dog a grin, then it faded as he pointed to the sleeping form of Foxy. "She was in the trees, and got stuck, then Mater had to pull her out, but she got hit by a tree branch, and it made her let go of the hook, and she kept on hitting the branches, again and again, until she hit the last one, then she slid into a bush. When she finally woke up, she said that she had a... knuckler? headache, and then she fell asleep. So shhh..." The little truck whispered his explanation, and the large dog nodded.

He stepped onto the couch, and curled up at Foxy's feet after going to fetch her second pair of slippers that she kept in Lightning's cone, for obvious reasons.

* * *

When Foxy next awoke, she moaned, and stretched slowly, wincing whenever there was a sharp pain. She found that although she was bruised, sore, and pretty scratched up, nothing seemed to be broken, which she thought was pure luck. Her head, however, was another story. It still felt like it was going to explode, and she sank down to the cushions again after slowly trying to sit up.

Nikki had noticed her movement, and was now at her side, watching her anxiously. When she didn't move again, he gently nudged the hand that she had limply drooping off the couch. "Hmm?" She replied weakly, and he looked up at her worriedly.

"Foxy? Do you want some of the yucky coffee? I'll go tell Light to get some."

Although her head was aching, she still found the strength to roll over and open her eyes to look at him. She didn't know what did it, although she assumed it was her nickname for Lightning coming from Nikki. "Sure, Nikki, that'd be great. Thanks." She gave him a small smile, which he returned before leaving the room.

In the meantime, Thunder had decided it was his turn to snuggle with her, and he clambered up towards her head before laying down at her side on the overly large couch.

"Good boy, Thunder." She replied with a quiet groan before reaching over and petting him gently. His tail wagged, and he licked her hand.

A few minutes later, Nikki came in with Lightning and coffee, as promised.

Lightning chuckled as he saw the scene before him.

Human sprawled out on the couch, slippers on the floor down by her feet, the large dog resting his muzzle on her shoulder and watching them. Just an average day nowadays.

"Looks like someone thought you needed your slippers, Foxy." He told her quietly with a gentle nudge. He knew that she had trained Thunder to bring her the slippers, and was sure that the sight of her lying on the couch had been enough to trigger that.

"He did? Thanks, Thunder. You're such a good boy." She petted him gently, and his tail wagged.

"Here's your 'yucky coffee' that Nikki said you wanted." Lightning replied, chuckling quietly.

"Thanks, Light." She attempted to haul herself upright, but he pushed her down onto the couch again.

"No, you stay there. Doc doesn't want you getting up for a couple of days."

"I'm all right, really. I'm just really sore, and I've still got that headache."

"That's what we figured. Doc said that you have a minor concussion, at least."

"That completely figures." With that, she sank down on the cushions again, trying to get her headache to lessen.

Lightning set the extra large drink cup at her side, complete with super long bendy straw.

"Thanks, Light." She replied, giving him a small smile before taking a sip of the coffee.

"First, you might want to take this. Doc said that it would help with the headache a little." He passed her a pill, which she readily swallowed with another sip of the coffee. He picked her up, then moved her to another room, closer to his own, on Doc's orders.

Nikki followed him around like a puppy, and he couldn't help feeling sorry for him. '_Poor kid. First his real parents, now Foxy? He must feel like nobody wants him around._'

After he had delivered her coffee to her, set the blanket from the back of the couch over her, and pulled the shades and curtains in the room, he picked up Nikki, who laid down on his hood. "You wanna go to the Butte?" Foxy heard him ask faintly, but didn't hear Nikki's answer, as she fell asleep shortly after.

* * *

The next time she woke up, the entire room was pitch black, so she knew that it was nighttime. At a movement to her right, she looked over and saw Nikki, curled up into her side and shivering, not wanting to take any of the blanket for fear of waking her up. "Nikki, you could've just taken some blanket. There's plenty here." She told him quietly, and he looked up guiltily.

"Sorry for waking you up, Foxy."

"It's all right. I'm thirsty anyways." She tossed the blanket over him lightly, and pulled herself along to the edge of the bed using her hands and feet. From there, she was able to get to the straw, and took a few sips of the now-cold coffee. She sighed with satisfaction, then inched back into the spot of warmth, pulling Nikki closer after disentangling him in the blanket. "There. Better?"

He nodded and uttered a soft, happy sigh, curled up into her stomach, her arm draped over him. "Is this what a mom is supposed to do?" He asked suddenly, quietly, and Foxy blinked in surprise.

"Of course, Nikki. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He replied quickly, quietly.

"Nikki, you know that you can tell me anything, right? After all, I am looking after you now."

He sighed, and didn't speak for a while. "My mom said that moms were supposed to work all the time, and cook, and clean, and go get groceries, and do woman-ish stuff. My dad said that they were just supposed to be something pretty to look at, and something to look forward to when you came home from work."

"Your parents said that?" Foxy asked, and he nodded. "Ohh, Nikki... They were wrong. I want you to never think about what they told you, because it was wrong. All of it. A mom is supposed to be kind, loving, fun but strict if she needs to be, and she can be pretty, but she doesn't have to be. She does much more then just getting the groceries, working, and cleaning. She's supposed to be there for the little boys or girls that are hers, and she's supposed to comfort them if they're hurt or scared. She's supposed to make sure that they're satisfied before she does anything, and she's supposed to be their friend from time to time."

"But you do all that stuff for me. Are you my new mom?"

She nodded with a small smile, unsure of how he would react. To her surprise, he hugged her, and cuddled closer.

"That's okay with me then." He replied quietly, and Foxy giggled a little.

"And you know what? Little boys are supposed to make their mothers laugh at everything they do that's funny or absolutely, just plain goofy. Little boys are supposed to make their mothers yell at them to not eat mud, and dirt, and bugs, or their own boogers." She made a face before continuing. "Little boys are also supposed to wear their mothers out after every day, that way they sleep better."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And so far, you've done everything except eating stuff you're not supposed to, which I really hope you don't. It's gross."

Nikki nodded, then stuck his tongue out. "It sounds gross."

Foxy gave him a smile. "I am so glad you said that." She hugged him close, then let him go.

"Can we got to sleep now? Mom?"

Foxy couldn't help but smile when he said it, and nodded. "Sure. I was just about to ask you the same question."

Nikki giggled quietly, then snuggled into her stomach and the two drifted to sleep once more.

Thunder came padding into the room, having heard them talking, and jumped up on the bed. Neither one stirred, and Thunder laid down at the bottom of the bed, his muzzle resting on Foxy's feet.

* * *

The next few days were a blur for Foxy because of the concussion, and she was only able to tell night from day by Nikki's presence at her side or not. He came to sleep with her every night at sunset, no matter what might have happened just minutes before.

When Lightning rolled past the two one night, he saw that it was just them, and not Thunder. "That's weird... and here he comes now. Figures."

Thunder passed by him, giving him a simple tail wag before jumping onto the bed and curling up at the foot of the bed again, his muzzle once more resting on Foxy's feet. "Hmmph... all I get anymore is a tail wag while she gets snuggle-butt. Figures."

Thunder raised his head sharply to look at him, and he jumped back in alarm.

"Sorry, Thunder."

Again, he got a tail wag before Thunder set his head down again. Lightning chuckled quietly, and continued on to his mattress.

For Foxy, the next morning was clouded with sleep, but a surprise visit from Doc kept her awake. She was clearly irritated when he opened the curtains, and ordered her to take her hat off. She did so, reluctantly.

He watched as she did, then nodded. "She should be all right in about another week." He turned to Lightning, who nodded.

"Thanks, Doc." After he left, Lightning closed the curtains again and left shortly after.

Foxy went to sleep again afterwards, curled up under the blanket. She was up again at sunset, and she could tell because she heard Nikki greet Lightning at the door. She heard him roll into the room, and when he climbed onto the bed to cuddle, she gave him a hug. "Hi, Nikki."

"Hi, mom." He replied happily, snuggling into her stomach, which made his engine purr quietly. Neither one could get used to that word, and yet it was so simple. Only three letters.

She took a sip of the coffee that was sitting at her bedside, and was soon fast asleep again, cuddling Nikki. The next morning, he did something that surprised her. She was just waking up, when he hugged her, then climbed off the bed, whispering, "Bye, mom." before he left. It was such a simple thing to say, and yet, it was the first time he had ever said it to her, at least in the morning.

She smiled, then reached over and pulled him closer, in a one-armed hug. "Bye, Nikki."

With that, he nudged her gently, and she released him into another day full of fun. She took another sip at her coffee, and realized that she was out. Sighing, she decided that she was up for a while. Shakily, she rose from the bed to stretch, and laid down in the bed again, in the warm spot. She pulled the blanket over herself again, and wished for her books, so she could read, at least.

As though he knew her thoughts, Thunder came padding in, carrying a book in his jaws gently. He sat down at the side of the bed she was facing, and she gave him a smile. "Thanks, Thunder. How'd you know I wanted a book?"

He wagged his tail, and she took the book from him.

"I don't remember seeing this one before. Where'd you get it?"

He whined, then using his nose, he flipped the cover open. Inside, it was lined with red paper.

"Red. I should've guessed. Tell him I said thanks, then could you let Lightning know that the coffee he brought over today was really good?" She giggled a little at her joke, and Thunder nodded.

He trotted out of the room again, and she heard the door open, then close. A short while later, Lightning rolled in, with another extra large coffee. "You know, you could've just told him that you were out of coffee."

"Where's the sense in that? If I can't screw with you sometimes, then it isn't any fun." She gave him a smile, which he returned.

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember, by the Big-brother-Little-sister law, you're going to get payback for this at a later date."

"Yeah, I know."

"New book?"

She nodded with a smile. "Red had it delivered this morning."

Lightning snickered. "Don't you mean that Thunder delivered it."

"That's what I said. Red had it delivered this morning. And thanks for bringing the coffee over anyway. You could've been a real jerk by not doing that."

"Yeah, I could've. But I'm not that big of a jerk, am I?"

"Not anymore. Doc told me a while ago that you were a really big jerk. I'd call it something different, but I'm not really in the mood."

Lightning grinned, then nudged her gently. "Yeah, knowing you, you really would. And worst of all, you wouldn't hold back unless there was a kid in the room."

"Yeah, that's the only thing. There's no kid in the room, but given the present circumstances, you're outta luck."

"Why do I have a feeling that there was supposed to be a swear there?"

"Because there was." She gave him a smile, and he shook his hood, chuckling quietly.

"Oh, Foxy. What are we ever going to do with you and that pottymouth of yours?"

"There's no way to tame it, that's for sure." She replied nonchalantly, yawning.

"You've got that right." Lightning replied with a smile. He nudged her again, then told her to get her nose out of the book and go to sleep.

"My nose isn't in the book." She placed her nose into the spine of the book, then closed it on her nose. "Now my nose is in the book." She replied in a strangled voice, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah. Funny. Get some sleep." He replied, giving her a smile before leaving.

She sighed, pulled her nose out of the book, then laid down again, and was shortly asleep.

The next time she woke up, her vision was a blur of colors. She could see about three different shades of blue, two brown blurs, and one bright red, shapeless mass. She groaned, and tried to clear her vision. "Ohh, man... What happened..."

"She's awake."

"Foxy, how many tires do you see?"

A black shape joined the other colors, but she couldn't make out what it was.

"What's it matter? Everything else is a blob anyways." She snapped groggily. She heard a chuckle, and lifted her head, trying to see better. All at once, her vision became crystal clear again.

In front of her pillow was a heavily distorted piece of plastic. She lowered her head again to look through it, and got the same result. "All right, which one of you is screwing with me?" She snapped, and none of them said a word.

As she swept past Doc, his eyes locked onto her, and then darted towards Lightning. He looked back at her, raising an eyelid.

She got the message, and looked directly at Lightning, giving him a look that said she wasn't pleased. As she stared him down, her gaze never wavering, he began to grin guiltily. When Foxy thought his grin couldn't get any bigger, he quickly sped out of the room, making the others laugh quietly.

Foxy sighed with a roll of her eyes and laid her head down again, pushing the warped piece of plastic off the bed and onto the floor.

"At least your sense of humor is returning, Foxy." Sally replied with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah." Foxy replied with another sigh. "Actually, there is a reason we all came to bother ya. It's been two weeks, and he said that your sense of humor was returning two days ago. This proves it, because any normal car would've been extremely mad at that. If you want, you could try getting out of bed. But nothing too extreme." Doc warned, and she nodded.

She slowly began to make her way out of bed, unsure what would happen.

Mater rolled forwards to offer her a place to balance. As predicted, her feet were completely numb, past the point of being asleep, and she crumpled, and would've landed on the floor if it weren't for Mater.

As it was, she still managed to swing herself around because of the momentum. When she had finally stopped, she was clinging to his fender for dear life, crouched close to the floor in an uncomfortable-looking position. "Yallright?" Mater asked worriedly, and she nodded.

"My feet are numb." She replied in an angry tone, looking down at her bare feet angrily.

Doc chuckled, and Thunder pushed her slippers over to her.

She looked down at them, then at Thunder with a smile. "Thanks, Thunder." She replied, sitting down on the carpet and petting him before putting them on.

They were a tan color, and had little chenille pieces covering them and going inside the slipper itself. At the front, the pieces formed the shaggy fur of a tan-with-brown-spots dog face, complete with a large brown nose at the toe. They were her favorite slippers, because the bottoms squeaked when she walked around on hard floors. She loved to squeak around when Lightning was watching tv, because the two would start laughing.

She stood up when they were both on, and she made her way out into the living room, the others following along behind her.

Thunder was the only one who was in front, and looked back over his shoulder at her. She gave him a smile, and he wagged his tail.

"Could I try going outside?"

Doc shook his hood. "Let's not have ya do too much today. Ya can stay in here and watch television, if ya want."

"All right. Thanks, Doc."

He nodded once, then nudged her before rolling out the door.

Sally gave her a smile before following him.

Mater stayed behind, and Foxy got the feeling that something was wrong. "What's the matter, Mater?"

"I'm mighty sorry fer causin' this, Foxy. I didn't mean ta."

"Mater, it wasn't your fault. I didn't even see the tree branch." She told him, hugging his fender.

"Ya mean ya ain't mad?"

"Of course not. Why would you think that?"

"I dunno, I just thought that ya woulda thought that I done tried that on purpose."

"No, of course I don't. I know that it was an accident." She replied, hugging his fender tighter.

"Ya sure?"

"Of course I am. Now go have fun."

"All righty then! Git-er-dun!" He replied with a grin before turning and heading for the door.

All that was left was Thunder, Nikki, and Foxy. "Well, do you want to watch tv, Nikki?"

He nodded, and jumped up onto the couch.

"Scoot over, dude." She gave him a smile, and laid down. He snuggled into her stomach, as usual, and she draped an arm over him, getting the remote and turning on the tv to a cartoon channel for him.

"There." She laid down under the blanket she had brought with her from the other room to try and sleep some more.

**Poor Foxy... again. xD She seems to be the female equivalent of Bad Luck Brian. If you aren't familiar with Brian, look up Bad Luck Brian pictures. I found a good one that reads, 'Bought a rat.' Above Brian, then below him it reads, 'Dies from the plague.' xD **


	7. Trippy Dreams, and a Serious Message

Just as she was dozing off, there was a thud at the door. She blinked her eyes open sleepily, momentarily wondering why the car at the door didn't come in. She heard Nikki get off the couch and roll the door up. She heard him call out to her, but didn't hear what he said. "Nikki, who is it?" She called back.

"Red!" She heard faintly, and she smiled before getting up, pulling the blanket over her shoulders. She was still in sleep mode, and trudged out to the door in her slippers. There she found Red, who gave her a smile. "Hi, Red. Hey, that book is really good! Thanks for getting it for me." She gave him a smile, giggling as he blushed and scuffed a tire on the ramp bashfully. "Oh, you silly truck." She giggled, coming towards him and giving his front a hug.

He picked her up and hugged her, cradling her in his grasp.

"I really need to make a cloning machine, that way you can have a me all to yourself to hug all you want." She giggled, and he looked at her eagerly. "I guess I need to make that machine then, if I've already got a customer."

He grinned guiltily, and Foxy laughed.

"Oh, Red. For now, there's just one of me, and I don't mind." She snuggled against his front, purring quietly.

"Wow, Foxy. You sure like hugs."

"I sure do, Nikki. That's because Red gives the best hugs." She looked up at the fire truck with a smile, and he nuzzled her before setting her down again. "Thanks for stopping by, Red." She gave him another smile, and he returned it before nudging her inside gently. "Okay, I'm going. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded, and departed after seeing her inside.

She laid down on the couch again, and Nikki returned to his spot, curled up against her stomach. He seemed to be enthralled by cartoons, and Foxy just watched him for a while, smiling slightly. Eventually, she began dozing off again, and didn't hear Lightning come in. When he nudged her hand, she jumped up like she had been shocked. "Whoa... Hi Light."

He chuckled, then deposited a cup by her side.

"I think I've had enough coffee in the past week to last me through the month."

"It's not coffee. Fillmore told me to give it to you. He said you liked it."

Confused, she took a sip, only to find that it was hot chocolate with cinnamon and brown sugar. She smiled, then nodded. "He was right. It used to be one of my favorite drinks, but he wouldn't know that unless... Little _shit_! He read my diary!"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her hand flew up to cover her mouth. Lightning started laughing, and Nikki turned to look at her in surprise.

"POTTYMOUTH!" He exclaimed at the top of his voice, and Lightning laughed again.

"Nikki, I didn't mean it, it just slipped out, I-"

"Too late. You can't take it back." Lightning replied, grinning.

"I'll clean your clock, boy!" She growled, and he laughed.

"Yeah, Okay."

"Oh, go away. We're watching cartoons."

Lightning laughed, then muscled his way onto the couch, trying to taunt Foxy. "Really, can I watch too? I haven't seen this one in _forever_!"

"Lightning!" She exclaimed, giving him a playful shove.

He laughed, and began tickling her.

"Okay, okay, OKAY! I'm sorry!"

"That's better." In a flash, he had licked her, then he was gone, leaving her fuming and trying to scrub his spit off herself.

"I'll get him back for this!" She growled, still scrubbing. "You should be glad that you don't have a big brother, Nikki. Otherwise, I don't know what I'd do."

"But you and Lightning don't look the same. How are you his little sister?"

"I'm adopted."

"Ohhhhh... Let's watch some tv." He replied, snuggling back into her stomach and facing the tv.

Foxy giggled, then hugged him before laying down again. The last thing she remembered was watching an animated nut dance across the screen with an animated bolt in a goofy, animated version of the tango. After that, her brain was too clouded with sleep to comprehend anything. She somewhat remembered rolling over to face the back of the couch, but she hadn't bothered to open her eyes. As she fell into an even deeper sleep, she began to dream. And what a strange dream it was.

* * *

Somehow, she had ended back in her own world, in her own neighborhood. Instinctively, she ran for the garage, only to find her father's Corvette was gone. '_Okay, Max is probably just back in Radiator Springs. No biggie._' She went inside, and found that her mother was counting over a large quantity of bills. "Where'd you get all that money?"

"Don't you remember? The man that I sold the Corvette to felt bad since Dad was gone, so he gave us an extra thousand for it."

Foxy could feel her face pale quickly as she tried to comprehend the response. "Y-You sold the Corvette?"

"That's what I just told you. But don't worry, I saved that picture for you that you wanted."

"Oh... thanks." She replied slowly. She walked up the steps, to her room. The first thing she did, was look for the picture. It had been blown up into a poster-sized picture, and she had said that she wanted it. However, as she glanced up into the mirror above her dresser, she gasped.

Her hair was back to its old, reddish color, and length. And her ears were gone. She quickly reached behind her, grabbing frantically. Her tail was gone too. "Was it all a dream? Did any of that really happen?" As soon as she said it, there was a bright flash outside her window, and when she dashed to it, she couldn't believe her eyes.

In the driveway was Nikki, looking around in confusion. She darted out her open window, jumped onto her roof, then onto the hill in her front yard. From there, she walked under the tree that stood in front of her yard, and went over to meet him. "Psst! Nikki!" She whispered to him, and he looked over her way.

"Who are you?"

"It's me, Foxy. This is what I used to look like, without my tail or ears, and before my hair was dyed."

"Ohhh. I like the red and yellow better."

"Thanks. I do too." At a scream behind her, she turned to find her mother. "Mom?!"

"What is that thing?! Certainly not a car?!"

"He isn't a car, mom. He's a truck. And he's an orphan. I rescued him."

"I don't care! IT will not be anywhere near here! I'm going in to call the authorities! You stay here and make sure it doesn't go anywhere!"

"But mom, he isn't-"

"Don't talk back!" And with that, her mother was gone.

"Nikki, you've got to get outta here, now. There's a park a few miles away from here that you should be able to hide in, but stay in the forest. You can take the roads, but the speed limit is twenty five miles an hour, so stay under that. You're going to go down there-" she pointed down her road that led to the main road, "Then take a left. You're going to stay on the road until you get to a four-way intersection with a bar, a pizzeria, a row of hedges, and a tanish-yellow house with a fence. You're going to take the right there, right between the bar and the pizzeria. When you get to the top of the hill, you're going to see a sign for the park, it'll be maroon and gold. It's going to look like a driveway, but just keep going down it until you see a big building without sides. Behind that is the woods, and hide well. Climb a tree if you have to. You'll know it's me because I'll howl, meow, then hiss. Nobody else can make all those noises like I can, so remember where you're supposed to turn, and get outta here."

He ran through what she had just told him, and drove towards the exit.

She heard him turn left, and sighed.

"Where'd it go?! I just saw it!"

"Saw what, mom?"

"The truck with eyes and a mouth!"

"Are you sure you've been sleeping enough? It doesn't sound like it..."

"I've been sleeping fine." She snapped, then mumbled something about calling off the authorities before going back inside.

As soon as she went back inside, Foxy heard the sounds of the local police coming. What she saw shocked her.

They had Nikki bound tightly by ropes and chains, and had placed a large amount of duct tape over his mouth. "Does this thing look familiar to you?"

"We saw it leave your yard, and we had a call from your residence about something like this."

"Let him go, please. He's only a child."

"Only a child? This thing is an alien!"

"Please, you can't do this!"

"You have confirmed that it is familiar, and thus, it will be destroyed."

"WHAT?! NO! NIKKI!"

Her mother held her back as she lunged for the nearest officer. "No! You let them do their jobs!"

Foxy struggled in her mother's grasp, but it was no use. "NOOOO! NIKKIII!"

With a gasp, Foxy was pulled into the present time as she sat bolt upright. Her head whirled from left to right, unsure of where she was. Was she at home? Or was she back where she wanted to be?

"Foxy, Foxy, calm down!"

"Mom?"

Hearing that assured her that she was where she wanted to be, although she was still extremely shaken.

"What happened?" Lightning asked, rolling closer to the couch, seeing how pale she was.

She gulped, and didn't say a word. The only thing that loosened her lips was Nikki nudging her in the side gently. "Are you okay, mom?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad dream, Nikki. That's all." She replied, staring directly at Lightning, trying to tell him that it wasn't just any bad dream, and that she would tell him later, when Nikki was asleep. He caught the message, and nudged her gently.

"You sure you're all right?"

"Yeah. It just freaked me out a little." She replied, laying down beside Nikki again.

"Hey, Nikki, why don't you go see what Sara, Paul, and Harry are up to? I'm sure they wouldn't mind playing with you." Lightning suggested, and Nikki hopped off the couch.

"Okay!"

As soon as he left, Lightning turned to her. "All right, what was it about?"

Foxy sighed. "I was back home, my hair colors were gone, my ears were gone, my tail was gone. Max was gone. Sold, like my mom had planned to do. I went up to my room, and was thinking about you guys, when suddenly, there was this big flash, and I went to the window to find Nikki outside. I climbed out the window, and onto the roof, then jumped to the ground and went over to him. My mom came out, saw him, and flipped out. She called the authorities, and I told Nikki to run to a local park. He started to, but they caught him. When they brought him back to me, I-I just couldn't bare to see it. They had him wrapped up in ropes, and chains, and he had duct tape over his mouth, lots of it, and they said that they had been staking out the house, and saw him trying to leave. I told them to let him go, and that he was just a kid. They told me he was an alien, a thing. I tried to tackle the one cop when my mom came out of nowhere and held me back. They took him away, and I screamed for him. Then I woke up. They won't steal him away from me, will they? Like, they won't find living relatives and take him away, to them, will they? I don't think I could bear it. He's more mine then theirs now, anyways!"

"Foxy, none of that's going to happen. You're not thinking straight from the concussion. Now, did you legally adopt him?"

"Yes."

"Then he's yours, and they won't come after you and take him. Obviously no suitable relative was found, and besides, you are a living relative of him. His new mother."

"That was really corny, Light."

"Yeah, yeah. But then again, you were the one who dreamed me that way."

* * *

With a gasp, Foxy sat bolt upright, looking around frantically. Was this a dream, too? Or was this reality? "Mom? You okay?" Came a sleepy-sounding voice. She looked down, and there was Nikki, looking up at her in concern.

"Yeah... just a bad dream, Nikki."

"It sounded bad, whatever it was. You kept shouting a lot, and you were squirming around a lot." He hugged her tightly, and she hugged him back. The only light in the room was the light from the tv, which was still turned to cartoons.

"Foxy? You okay?" Lightning asked, rolling into the room.

"Yeah, fine. Hey, did Fillmore put anything into that hot chocolate? Like, any substances?"

Lightning gave her a look, as though saying, 'Knowing him, there's a possibility...'

"Great. So I just drank all that substance-laced hot chocolate. Well, that explains the trippy dreams."

Lightning laughed, and at Foxy's expression, he fell silent. "You all right?" He asked quietly, nudging her. He was serious, and she knew it. She sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so, now that I know what the cause of the dreams were."

Nikki climbed into her lap, and she hugged him tightly." "Mom, what does 'subtsance-subdance..."

"'Substance.'"

"Yeah, that. What's that mean?"

"It's something I normally wouldn't use, and something you SHOULD NOT use. Fillmore likes to use it from time to time because it lets you think in a completely different way then everyone else. You see lots of strange things when you use it, like my strange dreams. Some cars see colors, and patterns, or see what I saw, called 'hallucinations'."

"Why does Fillmore use it? Is he bad for using it?"

"I just told you why, and no. He isn't bad. He grew up around that stuff, and to him, it's okay to use it."

"Then why'd he put it in your hot chocolate?"

"Good question!" Foxy exclaimed, making Nikki giggle. "I'm gonna ask him about it myself." She told him, and he nodded.

"Is he in trouble?"

"For putting it in my hot chocolate? Maybe. For using it himself? No."

"Are you gonna give him a time-out?"

Lightning laughed out loud, and Foxy gave him a look that quickly shut him up.

"Probably not. Why? Do you want me to?"

"YES!" Nikki exclaimed, grinning widely.

Foxy laughed, then rubbed his roof. "Well, it isn't gonna happen."

"Aww..." He pouted, and Foxy smiled.

"Why are you so intent on seeing Fillmore get punished?"

Lightning was snickering behind her, and she could only guess why.

"Because, he was naughty."

Lightning burst out laughing, and Foxy figured out why. "**THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!**" The two chorused, then they both fell to laughing.

"Huh?" Nikki asked, confused.

"Nothing, Nikki. It's a joke between Light and me. It's a joke that we shouldn't be laughing at, since we're mature adults."

Lightning snorted with laughter, and Foxy looked his way. "Right, _Lightning_?"

"Sure, whatever you say. Mature adults."

With that, he began laughing again, and Foxy sighed. "Lightning, you're hopeless..."

"You sure you're okay, though?"

"Yeah, just a little freaked out."

**This is going to be a sort of serious tidbit for this one. My mom has decided that we're moving, sometime soon, or in the future, whenever. And before that, she's going to sell Max, who is sitting parked through the door behind me and covered in sheets, as he is in the first time we hear about him. Poor chap's got something wrong with his engine, and my cheap mother and baboon of a brother won't fix him so we can keep him. :/ **

**So, as I sit here typing this, he may eventually only exist in my memories, and the large photo I was promised by said mother. When this day comes, I shall post a short story deciding Max's fate in the Cars world, as well. We shall see how Foxy reacts to it, for this is her last remaining physical memory of her father that she has. **


	8. Shagadelic Minis and Catching Bugs

"Then maybe a little Austin Powers in Goldshifter will make you feel better?"

"Oh, lord no. I couldn't stand to watch Fat Bastard last time, what makes you think I could watch him now? Even if that 'shagadelic' Mini Cooper has a father with an amazingly sexy voice?"

Lightning laughed, then grabbed the remote. "Too late."

"Fine. But just for a little."

Lightning chuckled, then turned it on. They settled in to watch the movie, which was at the part with Dr. Evil in the high-security prison.

"Wait... what about Nikki? I'm not too sure he wants to see that overly-large wagon."

"Yeah, you might want to shield him from that..."

"You think?" Foxy sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, come on. It's a perfect movie night."

"All right, fine." She finally relented, and began to watch the movie again.

Suddenly, the part with Fat bastard, the overly-large wagon, came on, and Foxy shielded Nikki with a hand, clamping it over his windshield. He struggled, and complained. "No, Nikki, I realllly don't think you want to see this. If you want, you can watch it when you're a little older and see what you think, but not now." As she said it, she too covered her eyes with her other hand, only peeking through her fingers.

Lightning laughed, and she looked over at him.

"It's disturbing, all right? I don't understand how you can like all that hanging around, even in a skinny diaper that hides too little." She felt Nikki's eyes widen, and looked over at him. "Nikki, you're not to try and peek. If you do, I'll tell Doc and he'll keep you cooped up in the clinic for a week." She ordered firmly, and he nodded.

"I'll shut my eyes then."

She felt him do so, and smiled. "Thank you."

"Now that I think about it, it is kind of gross, seeing all that hanging around on a wagon, especially a redhead..." Lightning shuddered, and looked away.

"Ahhh, ya gave me a Nerple!"

Foxy tried not to laugh at the shout when it came from the television, more specifically from Fat bastard.

Lightning, however, was another story. He laughed at her, then laughed at the television, pointing with a tire childishly.

"I swear, Lightning, you're such a child..."

"And don't you forget it!" He exclaimed.

When Foxy finally dared to peek, a commercial was on. "Okay, Nikki, you can look now." She removed her hand from his eyes, and he blinked them open. The movie came back on shortly, and they continued watching it.

Abruptly, Fat Bastard flashed across the screen again, and Foxy screamed in surprise. "NIKKI, COVER YOUR EYES!" It was too late. Nikki had already seen the wagon in all his glory, and was now lolling limply on the couch, passed out. "I think that was a bit too much for him..." As she said it, she looked directly at Lightning, who grinned sheepishly.

"Not my fault!"

"Yes, it was! You could've told me what happens next!" She exclaimed, frantically trying to wake Nikki up.

With a gasp, he scrambled to his tires, looking around frantically. "Where's the creepy wagon?!"

"He's gone, trust me." Foxy replied with venom, glaring at Lightning. Oh, if looks could kill...

Lightning was now holding Nikki so Foxy could get up and rant about how childish he was. He nearly laughed at the sight of Thunder following after her with both of her slippers in his mouth. Finally, she had finished, and took Nikki back.

Lightning departed shortly after, wanting to let them sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Foxy dared to go outside, and the others were overjoyed to see her out and about. She just sat down next to Fillmore as usual. Fillmore nuzzled her gently, and Flo brought her another extra large coffee, just the way she liked it. "Thanks, Flo." She gave the show car a smile, then began sipping avidly at the coffee, making Flo laugh.

"You're welcome, honey. I'm glad that you're feeling better."

"Thanks, Flo." Foxy managed to reply, too busy with her coffee to get another word out.

Flo laughed, then nudged Foxy gently. "'Least I know someone likes my coffee."

The others chuckled, watching Foxy nearly inhale the coffee.

"Nice shoes, Foxy." Sheriff chuckled, making her look down. What she saw were her puppy slippers.

She was so shocked, she nearly sent coffee flying everywhere. "WHAT?! Where did these come from?! I could've sworn I had my other shoes on!"

The others laughed, but none more then Sheriff. "Now you really do look like someone who got too little sleep." He chuckled, and she sighed.

"At least they're tan. That way you can't tell if they're dirty."

Nikki was now amusing himself with poking the noses on her slippers with his tires. "Aren't they supposed to squeak, or beep, or something?" He finally asked, looking up at her in confusion. The others laughed, and this time Foxy was included.

"No, they don't squeak, or beep, or something. They're the nose of the puppy."

"And noses don't squeak?"

"Or beep." She told him, laughing.

"Oh.." He replied, laying down by her side. He poked the nose of her right slipper once more, as though he were angry at it.

Foxy giggled, then picked him up. "Only you, Nikki."

He sighed, then sprawled out in her grasp, dangling his right tire over her arms. "I'm bored!" He exclaimed after a while, and the others laughed.

"What do you wanna do?"

"I don't know." He replied with a pout.

"Then I can't help you. Why don't you go and catch some bugs or something? That's what boys are supposed to do."

A chorus of 'Hey!'s went through the café, and Foxy laughed. "I said boys, not men! You guys can go catch some if you want. I'm staying here."

The others laughed at her response, and Nikki drove off, presumably to catch bugs. He came back shortly, his mouth shut tightly.

"Find anything, Nikki?"

For a response, he opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, the corners of his bumper turning upwards in a grin. Foxy's jaw nearly hit the ground in shock. Poised on his tongue was a multitude of tiny beetle insects. "Nikki!"

The beetles flew away when she shouted in surprise, and Nikki stuck his tongue back in his mouth. "I caught some."

"Not with your tongue!" She exclaimed in exasperation, and the others began laughing.

"This is much better then television." Lightning muttered to Sally, who agreed.

"Open up. I want to see if you swallowed any."

He clamped his mouth shut tightly and shook his hood.

"Open. Now." She gave him a look, and he stuck his tongue out at her, but kept his lips firmly sealed around it. "I'll do it myself..." She warned, and he appeared to be poking his tongue around in his mouth.

Abruptly, he opened, and a small beetle flew out.

"Missed one." He replied with a toothy grin, and Foxy began laughing.

"I just can't stay mad at you, Nikki." She replied, shaking her head and chuckling. "Now let me see if you swallowed one."

He obediently opened his mouth, and she looked inside. His tongue flopped out, and she drew back, making the others snicker. She looked in his mouth for a few minutes, then pushed his bottom jaw shut gently.

"You're lucky."

"Aww, I didn't eat any?"

"You had how many in your mouth, Nikki?!"

"I think ten. I stopped counting at nine. It got too hard to count and keep them in my mouth at the same time."

Foxy sighed in exasperation, and put a hand over her face. "Nikki... You're not supposed to catch them that way... You're supposed to take a net, or a plastic jar, or cage, or whatever. You put them in there when you find them."

"Ohhh..." He replied, and Foxy sighed. "Come on, I might have a jar in my trailer."

The two headed back towards her trailer, and she went in first, to hide the coloring book she was making. She came out a few minutes later with a clear plastic jar that had a twist-able lid. "Here, Nikki." She handed him the jar, and he looked at it.

"Thanks, mom." He gave her a smile, then he was off again, up the tree in Fillmore's yard.

"Just be careful up there!" She warned, and he nodded absentmindedly, already chasing after a ladybug beetle on a branch. She turned to walk away, when she heard him shout. She flew around, only to see him holding up the container triumphantly, the lid tightly on. She could see a little dot inside, and smiled. "See any more up there?"

He looked around, and nodded before leaping in an arc to another branch.

"Don't do that, Nikki!" She squealed in a panic.

"Why? I'm all right."

"Yeah, but it just scares me, okay?"

"All right." With that, he caught the insect he was aiming for, and slid down the tree branch, until he met the trunk. When he reached it, he began swinging from one branch to the one beneath it, almost like steps. When he reached the base of the branches, he slid down the trunk, and landed with a thunk on the ground. "That was fun!" Just like that, he was up and off again, having heard a cricket in the tall grass in Fillmore's yard.

Foxy sighed and shook her head, then walked off towards Flo's again, leaving Nikki to his own devices. She settled down beside Fillmore, and Doc chuckled at her exhausted-slash-flustered expression.

"Quite a kid, you've got yourself, Foxy. Not too many can manage to put that many insects in their mouth without swallowing at least one."

**Yes, I was watching Austin Powers' Goldmember while I was typing. Note to self: Never watch movie while typing, you'll think every movie deserves to be watched in your stories, and that's never a good thing.**

**All credit for the real movie goes to Mike Meyers, a.k.a Austin Powers, and Dr. Evil, and Fat Bastard, and he was also Shrek. :)**

**Had to have Nikki catch bugs, since he was never allowed to do that. :(**

**And yes, I'm aware that the man who played Austin Powers' father is none other then Michael Caine, voice actor for the sexiest British spy car in Cars 2! With a moustache... :D**


	9. Another Halloween in Radiator Springs

"I just know that he ate one, I just know it."

"They're yummy."

Foxy gasped in surprise as Nikki's voice came suddenly from behind her. "Nikki! You did not just say that!"

"It's true. It accidentally flew in my mouth."

"For real, or are you just screwing with me?"

He hung his hood, giving her the 'guilty eyes'.

"That's what I figured." She replied, giving him a stern look. "First of all, tell me why you thought it was a good idea to eat a bug?"

"You said that other boys did it, so I wanted to see why they liked them so much."

"Nikki... Just because I say something, doesn't necessarily mean that I want you to try it..." She groaned, covering her eyes with a hand.

The others watched, trying not to burst out into laughter.

Nikki's hood hung, and she picked him up. "We're going to the waterfall." She replied, already beginning to tote him towards said object.

"Why?"

"To see if we can wash the taste of the insect out of your mouth, or at least what's left of it." She replied, her voice drifting back towards the others.

* * *

When they reached it, she set him down, and he didn't move. She took off her sweatshirt, setting her phone, wallet, shoes and socks on the shore. She waded out into the water after picking him up again.  
She sat down on a rock near the surface, and proceeded to scoop up a handful of water, then commanded him to open. He opened his mouth, and again his tongue flopped out. She began scrubbing his tongue gently with her fingers, and he giggled.

He mumbled something she couldn't understand, and she looked confused. "What was that?"

"I said it tickles." He replied, then stuck his tongue out again.

When she had finished scrubbing his tongue, she poked her hand around in his mouth, searching for any bits of an insect she might have missed. She felt something, and pulled it out. What she got was half a wing cover off of a blue Beetle. She reached in again, and this time pulled out a complete shell from another blue Beetle. "Nikki, I thought you said you ate one..."

"Maybe I ate a few more then one... You're not gonna lock me in your trailer for a week without any food, are you?"

She could see that he was quivering, and tilted her head in confusion. "No, Nikki, of course not. Who would ever do that?"

"My old mom and dad." He replied, shrinking towards the ground.

"Why would they do something like that?"

"Because they said that I was bad for coming out of my room when they had other adults over."

"That's awful. No, Nikki. I won't do that. Just please don't eat anymore bugs, okay? You're already crazy enough as it is, I don't need you getting mentally unstable from eating a toxic insect." She replied, picking him up.

"Okay. What's that mean?"

"What? Mentally unstable?"

He nodded, and she sighed.

"The best way I could explain it, would be with lots of big words you wouldn't understand, so I'll tell you when you understand what they mean."

He nodded, and snuggled into her grasp. "Foxy, are you sure you aren't gonna lock me up in the trailer?"

"I'm sure." She replied, hugging him tighter.

* * *

The months came and went, and soon it was nearing Halloween. One day, in the middle of the month, Nikki nudged Foxy gently.

"What's up, Nikki?" She asked, giving him a smile.

"Can I be the Mini in that movie we saw?"

"You want to be Austin Powers?" She asked, surprised.

He nodded, and she giggled.

"Somehow, I just can't see you being him. I don't think you'd like that ruffly-thingy he has on his coat."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot..."

"Why don't you go as... a bunny, or something?"

"A bunny?!" He exclaimed, looking disgusted.

"Okay, I'm sorry! We won't do the bunny. What about... a Pirate?"

He shook his hood.

"Okay, no pirate... Fillmore?" She teased, and the others chuckled.

"No, he can go as himself. Hmm..."

"Did you hear that?! You're supposed to go as yourself!" Foxy exclaimed, giving Fillmore a nudge and a grin.

He chuckled, and watched as Nikki frowned.

"Foxyyyy..."

"Okay, okay, calm down. I'm sorry."

"I wanna go as Bigfoot!"

Foxy pulled back, giving him a surprised look. "Bigfoot?"

"Yeah, the monster truck!" He gave her a grin, and she understood.

"Ohhhh... Now I understand... It would fit you..."

"Can I? Pleeeasseee?"

"I don't see why not. Do you need anything for it that I could make?"

He shook his hood, then grinned up at Foxy.

"Orr... would you prefer Grave Digger?"

"YEAH!" He exclaimed, making her laugh.

"Okay, then we're going to have to make you a bed cap, so you look like a sedan." She gave him a grin, and he squealed before bouncing on his tires and hugging her.

"Thanks, Foxy!"

She giggled, then hugged him back. "You're welcome, munchkin."

* * *

Halloween neared, and Foxy took him over to Ramone's to get the Grave Digger paint job. When he came out, Foxy blinked in surprise. It looked nearly spot on, down to the names of other monster trucks on the headstones, and the decals. They were going to place red filters on his headlights after his paint was dry, and he couldn't have been more pleased.

"It looks great, Nikki! Thanks, Ramone!" She gave the lowrider a grin, which he returned.

"Ey, no problemo, 'specially not for L-Z." Foxy giggled, and watched Nikki, who was busy peering at himself in the mirror.

Abruptly, he began squealing and squirming in delight, a giant grin on his face. Foxy and Ramone laughed, then he turned around.

"Ready to put the filters in your headlights and windshield?" She had come up with a way to make his irises red as well, and the effect was startlingly scary.

"Yeah!" He exclaimed, bouncing on his tires, truck cap in place and painted. He had gotten a temporary muffler replacement, that made his engine sound extremely loud, and he had raced up and down the road, testing it out.

The filters were placed over his headlights and irises, and Foxy stepped back to look him over. What she saw was a mini Grave Digger, and she grinned. Luigi had even gone through the trouble to get some off-roading tires that looked like they belonged on a monster truck, and had fit them on Nikki's wheels.

"Are you happy now, dude?" She asked him, and grinned as he bounced around.

"Yeahyeahyeahyeah!"

"Bye, Ramone! See you at the party later!"

He waved an extra tire in reply, already painting himself for the costume party.

The two exited the building, and Flo spotted the two. "Wow... you look really scary, Nikki honey!"

"Thanks, Flo!" He revved his engine, making it peak at a grumbling roar, then let it die back down.

She laughed, then nuzzled him gently. "You'd better go get your costume on, Foxy. I'll watch him while ya do."

"Thanks, Flo! I almost forgot!" With that, Foxy sped off into Fillmore's to get ready. She was going as Abby from NCIS, figuring that her collar would be the perfect match. She was ready in a surprisingly short time, given everything that was a part of the costume, and had to duck as she walked out of the dome wearing the platform boots. "Geez, how does she walk in these things..." She muttered, and heard a chuckle from behind her. She gasped, and whirled around, losing her balance and tottering about in the platforms, flailing her arms to try and get her balance back.

Just as she lurched backwards, she was stopped mid-fall. When she dared to look, she discovered that it was Fillmore who she was now leaning against. "Thanks, Fillmore." She replied with a grin, righting herself.

"Sure thing, man." He replied, taking in the outfit, starting with the long, now-black, shoulder-length pigtail braids she had. "Not bad." He replied, and she gave him a smile.

"Thanks! What're you going as?"

"Bob Marley."

"Really? Awesome! Want my bag?"

He shook his front, and Foxy laughed.

"That's what I figured, but I had to ask."

Fillmore ducked inside the dome to get the wig, while Foxy went over to Flo's.

"Foxy?"

"Nope, tonight I'm Abby."

Flo laughed, and Nikki looked up at her.

"You look so different, Foxy." He replied, his back bumper nearly touching the ground as he tried to look up at her.

"Thanks, Nikki. Ready to start the costume contest? It's nearly time."

He grinned, then parked beside her.

* * *

Slowly, the others trickled in, with Sheriff and Lightning being the judges. Sheriff was dressed up as Buford T. Justice from the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy, while Lightning had been painted black, had fur that Thunder had shed taped to his body, had amassed eight long, spindly legs and attached them to his sides, then to complete the look he went with large fake fangs.

The two started off the costume party, and soon Foxy was up next. She grinned, donned the lab coat she had found lying unused at the back of the clinic, then walked towards the two.

"Says here she's supposed to be Abby, from 'NCIS'." The Lightning-spider replied, to which Buford T. Justice chuckled.

"Definitely looks the part. But does she sound like 'er?"

Foxy opened her mouth, and promptly fired off a long-winded explanation about how Gibbs knew just when she had something for him, or maybe he didn't, or maybe it was magic. The others chuckled, and she grinned.

At the judges' table, the two were conversing in low tones.

"No, I remember her saying that stuff in an episode."

"Ya sure?"

"Positive."

Sheriff nodded, then chuckled. "Why'd ya choose a spider, kid?"

"I just figured that it would freak Foxy out." Lightning replied with a grin.

"I don't think it worked." Sheriff replied, and Lightning shrugged.

"Oh well."

The two called up Mater next, and not surprisingly, he had gone as Bigfoot, after hearing Nikki talk about it. "Not bad..." Lightning replied, and Sheriff agreed.

Foxy watched the rest as they went up, one by one, until Nikki was next. "Okay, remember the doughnuts, Nikki. Grave Digger did lots of them." Foxy whispered, then gave him a hug.

He nodded, then rolled out.

"Sure went all out on the costume. Says here he does doughnuts. Sound about right, kid?"

Lightning nodded. "Show us what you've got." He replied, looking at Nikki, who grinned.

He roared off down the road, and turned around before coming speeding back, trying to get as much speed as possible. When he had enough speed, he began spinning in doughnuts, getting faster and faster with each spin. Foxy cheered, clapping for him and grinning.

When he finally stopped, he had assumed a very triumphant stance, his front end tilted upwards, looking at the two judges and grinning.

"He showed us what he's got!" Sheriff chuckled, and Lightning looked amazed.

As Nikki rolled back to Foxy's side, his hood swayed with slight dizziness, and the others chuckled. When he reached Foxy, she picked him up, looking just like Abby with her hippo.

The others waited to see who the two would decide had won in the different categories as Sheriff and Lightning conversed in quiet tones.

* * *

Finally, the two looked up, and Foxy leaned forwards anxiously.

"Best human impersonation is Foxy's!" Foxy laughed along with the others, but stood up to be acknowledged anyways.

"Best traditional costume is Harry's werewolf!"

Foxy cheered for Harry when he rolled over to park beside her.

"Best costume duo is Flo and Ramone, the zombies!" Lightning proclaimed with a grin.

The two rolled up next to Harry, and Foxy gave Flo a grin. Neither had told the other about their costumes, so it was a complete surprise that the two were zombies. To her, it seemed an awful lot like Ramone's doing.

Red won for best accessory, which was his scythe and bony faceplate underneath his black hooded cloak.

Wingo had won for his use of blacklight and paint, donning a black paintjob with bones painted in special neon green blacklight paint. He even had some painted for his spoilers, and the effect was incredible. It looked like you were talking to an actual skeleton when the lights were out, and you shone a blacklight on him.

Thunder won best animal costume, as a reindeer.

Finally, all the finalists were up in front of the table, and Sheriff and Lightning had to decide whose costume was the best. Was it to be the amazing Abby, the wondrous werewolf, the gruesome Grim Reaper, the stupendous skeleton, the drop-dead awesome zombie duo, the relaxed reindeer, the devious Digger, or the Italian-speaking Dr. Sheldon J. Cooper?

The two judges conversed, leaving the contestants to wait anxiously, even though it was all in good fun. Finally, they turned to the others. "We have decided that the winner of the costume contest will be..." "Grave Digger." Lightning gave Nikki a grin, and Sheriff chuckled as the little truck squealed and did a few more doughnuts with joy before stopping.

"And now, the party commences!" Foxy exclaimed, picking up Nikki and tossing him playfully into the air. "You did it, Nikki! Great job!" She caught him, then bear-hugged him.

He giggled, and squirmed to get down. She set him down, and he was off, maneuvering in between the others like a madman, giggling the entire time.

Foxy laughed, and tried to keep up with him, which was next to impossible in the platform boots she was wearing.

Finally, she decided to call it quits and let him come to her. Which he did. Three hours later, at midnight.

It seemed like the effects of his sugar high from all the sweets he had earlier were finally wearing off, because he pawed at her boots with his front tires, wanting to be picked up. She smiled and picked him up, giggling as he konked out in her grasp after she took the red filters off his windshield.

"Ya should've dressed him up as a hippo. It woulda looked more like Abby." Doc commented, chuckling as he spotted the duo.

"I guess it would, wouldn't it? Oh well, he wanted to be Grave Digger." She gave Nikki's limp form a fond smile, and gently began pulling the filters off his headlights, along with the cap on his bed. She imagined that it would be heavy for a child to carry, even though she had made it out of the lightest metal she could find.

After that was done, she cuddled with her pickup truck-turned-Grave Digger before taking him over to Fillmore's dome to sleep. She gently set him down in her beanbag chair, set her horse beside him, then set the tie-dyed blanket over him. She smiled, then rubbed his roof gently before creeping outside and going back to the others.

"He in bed?" Lightning asked, and Foxy nodded.

"Just took him over now."

"He went to bed late."

"Sugar rush." Foxy replied, and Lightning grinned.

"I figured."

"Oh well, every kid deserves a sugar rush at some point or another."

"Yeah, especially him. Did you see him? He went nuts!"

"You're telling me! I don't know which was worse, the racing or the stunts!" Foxy exclaimed, thinking back to earlier in the evening when Nikki had decided to race the DRH, then show the others some of the stunts Grave Digger did. The others were astounded at his capabilities of preforming the stunts, and Foxy just watched him in surprise.

Now though, she sat down at Flo's with the others, who were slowly winding down the evening.

"Anyone up for ghost stories?" She asked, then her and Lightning watched as Mater booked it for his scrap yard.

When he was out of earshot, the others began chuckling.

"Sure, why not?"

"Awesome, because I've got a good one." Her eyes narrowed evilly, she arched an eyebrow, and clasped her hands together. She looked just like Abby when she was feeling particularly mischievous. She began to tell the tale, and the others listened with rapt attention.

"One day, very long ago, two men were arguing. They both whipped out their dueling pistols, but one of them fired before the other even had time to blink. In a fit of rage, the surviving man also shot the little black dog the dead man had brought with him. He thought all was finished, and went inside his home. However, he couldn't have been more wrong. Late that night, he heard the door to his cabin open, then shut. He grabbed his pistol, then crept out of his room. From there, he could see the door, but there was nobody else in the cabin. He began investigating, thinking that someone was playing a cruel prank on him. It was a known fact that none of his neighbors liked him. He opened the door, and there was the little black dog that he had shot, standing about a hundred yards away."

At this point, Sally gasped slightly, and Lightning snuggled into her side, the legs to his costume setting at his other side. Foxy just continued with the story.

"And from that day on, he continued seeing the dog. And not only seeing it, but hearing it, smelling it, and finding dog hair all over the cabin. He saw the tracks outside his cabin, even though nobody else could. Nobody else saw the fur, or the dog, or smelled the dog, or even heard it. The dog began driving him insane, since he was the only one who could see it. The neighbors insisted that they could not see a little black dog, even if the man pointed it out to them. One winter, many, many years later, one of the neighbors noticed that there was no smoke coming out of the man's chimney. The neighbor went over, and asked if the man was all right. He got no response."

Foxy paused, casting a slow, slightly malicious glance around at the others.

"The neighbor broke the door down, but saw nothing. The neighbor rounded up a couple of the others, and they entered the house. One of the neighbors moved the door back to its spot, and as they went into the house further, they could hear scratching, and thumping, and thudding noises. They finally got to the man's bedroom, but found nothing. They went back outside, and began searching for the man. One of the neighbors finally found him, lying in the snow. The most curious thing, however, was the numerous amount of black hairs on the man's face and clothes." Foxy finished, leaning back against a beam.

"Not bad, Foxy."

"Thanks." She gave Sheriff a smile, then looked around. "Hey, Sheriff?"

He looked over her way curiously. "Foxy?"

"Mater said something about the Ghostlight a few years back. What exactly is-"

"Don't say it!" Lightning shouted, making the others laugh.

"Don't say what?"

"Don't say, 'What is the Ghostlight!'"

"Okay, I won't. Hey Sheriff, I've never heard of the Ghostlight. What is it?"

The others looked at her in surprise, and she gulped at their intense stares.

"I'm sorry I asked." She replied, but Sheriff pulled out of his spot and rolled closer to her.

"The Ghostlight is a glowing orb of blue translucent light that haunts these very parts."

Foxy tilted her head, confused. "But I'm sure that it's just a story, right? I mean, it can't be real..."

"It is real!" He exclaimed, and she fell silent, wanting to know more, but also feeling like a frightened child. "It all started on a night like tonight. The song dogs were wailin' at the moon across Cadillac Range, and the summer wind blew hot, like the breath of Zozobra."

As if on cue, a coyote began its high-pitched howling, trying to search for its mate. Foxy looked around, trying to locate the sound, then turned back to Sheriff, too interested in hearing the story.

"A young couple was headed down this very stretch of the mother road, when they spotted an unnatural blue glow. They passed it off as the lights of another car, or maybe a motorcycle, and kept goin' down the road. About a mile later, the wife looked back and saw it again, much closer this time. They still thought it was a motorcycle, and just kept drivin', unaware that the clankin' from the two was making the orb mighty angry. They were on their way to California, tryin' to go from coast to coast. They decided to bed down for the night, make camp. They assumed that the vehicle would pass 'em by, but it pulled off to the side of the road a few hundred feet from 'em, even closer then before. Now that the two could see it wasn't a motorcycle, or even a car, they began feelin' afraid. They quick pitched a tent, and got inside, thinkin' that they were safe. The light was slowly driftin' closer and closer to their tent, but they didn't notice, since they were already asleep. That light was just comin' closer, and closer, and finally, when it was right outside, they began wakin' up."

As Sheriff continued telling the tale, Foxy couldn't help but notice that the others were listening raptly.

"The two finally realized what was goin' on, and they got outta there, but the orb was just as fast as they were. It chased 'em down, all the while hoverin' a few feet above the ground. Then, it began spinnin' in a large circle around the two cars, trappin' em in. It went faster, and faster, and faster. The speed it was goin' made a ring, a ring of fire. The two cars were trapped by the orb, that just stopped all of a sudden, as if it were watchin' 'em. The couple tried gettin' out of the circle, but couldn't jump through the flames. Just when they were plannin' to jump through 'em and hope for the best, the orb went up over the flames, and into the circle with the two cars. It had 'em cornered, and it knew it."

Sheriff began describing the attack, and Foxy's bottom jaw dropped in shock.

"...And all that was left were two out-of-state license plates. So remember, the one thing that angers the Ghostlight more then anything else, is the sound of clanking metal."

Foxy gulped, looking down at her tags on her collar. Unknown to her, Sheriff and Doc shared a look. They knew that they had her, and now came time for the fun.

"As you head home tonight, keep an eye out. The Ghostlight could be anywhere."

He cast a final look around at the others, then rapidly bid the others goodnight before shooting out of Flo's and down the road. The others did the same, leaving Foxy completely alone.

"Bye?" She called out, and Flo's lights shut off, pitching the entire town into darkness. "Are you kidding me?" She muttered to herself, then began trying to find her way back to Fillmore's with the darkness surrounding her. She began humming to take her mind off the evening darkness, and whirled around when she heard the sound of crunching gravel, nearly toppling over. "Wh-Who's there?" She asked, but got no answer. She continued onwards, trying not to listen to the gravel crunching behind her. She was sure that there was a car behind her, but who it was, she couldn't tell. She managed to fumble her way back to Fillmore's, and was just about to enter his yard when a blue light blared on behind her, making her freeze in her tracks.

The light was extremely bright, though it carried no sound, and she instantly turned around, thinking that a car was behind her and had turned on its headlights. "Wait..."

She realized that if there was a car behind her, its headlights would've been yellow, not blue, since only some cars used the blue lights. When she turned, she saw no one, not even a Beetle. The light was still behind her, and she turned in circles, trying to see where the light was. When this didn't work, she remembered the story Sheriff had told earlier, and how the Ghostlight spun in a rapid circle that lit on fire before it killed its victims.

She yelped quietly and took off like a shot, making her way surprisingly well in platform boots, even over uneven ground.

What she didn't realize was that Mater and Lightning had conspired against her to slip the famed blue lantern onto her tail, then knot the tip of her tail around the lantern handle. She was none the wiser, and really believed that there was a Ghostlight following her.

Finally, she began running in circles, seeing the light following her every move. She hoped to disorient it, that way she could slip away. What she didn't know was that the others were watching the entire thing in the dark, and laughing at her expense.

"Never fails." Sheriff chuckled, seeing her begin to spin rapidly once more, then wobble about on her platforms.

She took off once more, only to begin spinning in circles once more.

As she flew past the group, not even seeing them, they could hear her yelping about the Ghostlight eating her and selling her limbs to otherworldly monsters.

"All right, enough's enough. Let's get 'er before she ends up killing herself in them shoes." Doc sighed, knowing full well what could happen to Foxy in shoes she didn't normally wear. There was only one problem: she was no longer visible.

"Where'd she go?"

The others began calling for her, and they all shouted in alarm when she popped up behind them with a roar like a lion's.

"There you are!"

"Cute, guys. Really cute." She replied, holding up the dimmed lantern.

Sheriff chuckled guiltily as Mater and Lightning bumped tires.

"Are we done here?"

"Yeah, we're done." Sheriff replied, laughing now.

"What's so funny?"

"You should've seen yourself! Carryin' on about the Ghostlight, spinnin' in circles, it was pretty funny!" He replied, making the others laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, now I think it's time for sleep..." She replied around a yawn.

The others laughed, then she hopped into Mater's bed for the drive back to Radiator Springs. She had taken her wig off, letting her red-and-yellow hair flow over her shoulders. "That's better." She sighed, then began unbuckling her boots. When she had them off, she sighed happily.

She walked into Fillmore's with nothing but her costume and socks on, carrying her boots in one hand and the wig in another.

She donned a pair of old pajamas, and got rid of the makeup that consisted of Abby's getup, then laid down next to Grave Digger. Pulling him closer, she was soon asleep.

**Oh, look! A wild Halloween party appeared, and it's got ghost stories as an evolution! xD I really would've loved to go as Abby to the Halloween party, but someone beat me to it! She did really well on it, too! there were even The Mario Bros., a Scarecrow, Little Red Riding Hood, The Big Bad Wolf, Boba Fett, a flapper from the 20's, it was fun! :D **

**I don't own Smokey and The Bandit, Grave Digger, Bigfoot, or Austin Powers.**

**Another thing, yes, Nikki was abused by his parents before they died. That's why they locked him up when he came out of his room. **


	10. Foxy Puts Up With Only REAL Children

In the morning, she woke up with a yawn. As she blinked her eyes open, she looked over at the little truck in confusion. Where had Nikki gone? In his place was a truck who looked like Grave Digger, but without the size and height.

Nikki blinked his eyes open, only to find Foxy looking at him curiously. "Hi, Foxy." He replied, nuzzling into her stomach more, trying to get warm.

"Oh, Nikki! You had me confused for a second." She replied with a giggle, then a tight hug.

Nikki giggled and returned the hug, then squirmed. "Let's go!" He bounced out of the chair, then sank to the ground. "I think I had too much candy last night..." He whimpered, and Foxy smiled.

She picked him up, then carried him outside.

"Morning, everyone." The two greeted at the same time, making the others laugh.

"You two are too much alike."

"Thanks, Sheriff." They replied at the same time, then looked at each other. "Heyy..." They both replied, once more at the same time. "Stop that..." They told each other, and Foxy laid her ears back.

The others laughed, and Foxy set Nikki down. The two went silent, and Flo brought over a coffee for Foxy. "Thanks, Flo."

Flo gave her a smile, and rubbed Nikki's roof before going to deliver other orders.

"What're you planning to do today, little man?" Foxy asked, looking down at him.

He shrugged, then looked around for Sara. "Where's the orange car?"

"Which one? There's four."

"The girl."

"Sara! She's probably still sleeping."

"Ohh." He replied, then climbed into her lap, laying down afterwards.

She smiled and rubbed his roof gently, her tail wagging behind her.

About half an hour later, three mini Barracudas exploded from one of the houses towards the fire/court house, giggling and squealing loudly. Behind them was a larger Barracuda, yawning and blinking sleepily.

"Now can I go play with her?"

"Go ahead. See if she wants to."

He nodded, and scrambled off Foxy's lap. He rolled over to her shyly, and Foxy smiled as she watched. After a few minutes of him talking, the two drove off towards the Butte, not surprisingly, her two brothers following behind.

"Where are they going?" Mariana asked, looking to where the other four were giggling.

"Probably to go play tag. Why don't you go with? I think Nikki's a little shy around other kids yet."

Mariana nudged the Mini at her side with a tire, and the two followed after the group.

Foxy sighed as she watched them go, then took another sip of her coffee. "Looks like I found out a way to entertain him without physically being with him."

The others chuckled, watching as Foxy grinned. "I never realized how quiet it is around here without children present." She continued, and Doc chuckled.

"There's still one more that didn't leave." He replied, looking over her way.

"Who?"

"Ha ha, very funny, Doc."

Foxy blinked in surprise as Lightning's sarcasm rang through the café. "How do you know he was talking about you, Light?"

"He always does!" "Because I am."

"Oh. Then yeah, it was pretty funny, Doc!" Foxy replied, grinning wickedly in Lightning's direction.

"Oh, come on! You're the immature one here, not me!"

"Really? 'Cause I'm not the one trying to start an argument here..."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I think you just want an excuse to try and tackle me, like you always do." She replied, and he rolled his eyes.

"Foxy, why would you even think that? I'm completely mature, and that's something I would COMPLETELY DO!" With that, he leaped at her, then began chasing her around Flo's, much to the entertainment and amusement of the others.

"Lightning, you five year old, STOP!"

He just tackled her, sending the two into a barrel roll across the street, where they finally stopped in front of the billboard, a cloud of dust obscuring the view of the two. "LIGHTNING, NO! DON'T MAKE ME GET MEAN!"

Lightning's laughter rang out from the dust cloud, then a snarling noise, and a red shape came whizzing through the cloud.

"Now knock it off! I've already got to deal with one child, I don't need another in the form of an adult racer!" She snapped when she walked out of the cloud, her ears flattened and her tail puffed up.

"Jeez, I'm sorry!" He replied, seeing that Foxy was now royally angry.

"No, you're not. You're just gonna do it all over again tomorrow!"

"All right you two, that's enough. Foxy, go back to your coffee."

"As for you, leave her be."

"But Doc, I-"

"No buts about it. Ya leave her go, otherwise I'll throw ya in the impound."

"Fine..." Lightning grumbled, returning to his spot at Sally's side.

Foxy was still angry as she sipped her coffee with a bit more force then was necessary. She let her bangs fall in front of her eyes, knowing that if she didn't she'd soon be casting an angry glare at every car she looked at. She sat at Fillmore's side stiffly, her ears back, her tail rigid and fluffed up.

Fillmore knew better then to pet her hair or ruffle her ears, she'd refuse and get even angrier, then, instead of taking it out on him or the others, she'd begin taking it out on herself, oftentimes refusing food and coffee for weeks.

* * *

Finally, her ears and tail drooped limply, and Fillmore took a chance. He began petting her hair gently, and she inched closer to his side, finally snuggling against it. He chuckled quietly, and continued petting her.

"I'll be down at the Butte, if anyone needs me." She spoke up quietly, and the others let her go.

"Nothin' better then a group of kids ta make her feel better." Ramone commented, chuckling.

Foxy was trudging along, her tail drooping down, nearly touching the ground. Her ears were drooping to the sides, and her head was down, using her long hair as a curtain to hide her downcast expression.

"Hey, look! It's Foxy!"

"FOXY!"

The group of kids stopped chasing each other, and instead darted over to her, giggling and exclaiming her name.

Harry realized it first, and slid to a stop. "Foxy, what's wrong?" He looked up at her worriedly, and the others seemed to realize that something was the matter at that point.

They stopped in their tracks also, asking her the same question.

Foxy just sank down to the dirt, her hair still hiding her face. She nearly sat on her tail, and only thought to move it slightly at the last minute.

Nikki rolled forwards, hesitantly, and nudged her gently with his hood. "Foxy? Are you okay?"

There was a long pause as the children waited for her answer, then she finally spoke up. "No, Nikki. I did something pretty mean."

"What was it?" He asked, climbing into the crook between her stomach and her legs, which she had curled up in front of her. From there, he was able to nudge underneath her hair and look up at her properly.

Her eyes were downcast, and she looked extremely gloomy. "...It was nothing, Nikki. I'm all right. Go ahead and play."

He shook his hood, then placed his front tires on her chest, propping himself up so he could look up at her. "What's the matter, Foxy? For real. You can tell me anything, just like I can tell you anything."

She gave the faintest of smiles, then sighed. "All right. I yelled at Lightning, then I snapped at him."

"Why?"

"He was annoying me."

"That wasn't very nice of him." Nikki replied, snuggling into her stomach, his engine purring quietly.

Harry saw his chance, and joined Nikki in her lap, nuzzling into her stomach also. "It's not your fault Lightning was being mean, Foxy."

"Yeah, you just wanted him to leave you alone."

"And he didn't listen."

"So you shouldn't be upset that you yelled at him."

"Or that you snapped at him."

At this time, all six of the children were attempting to fit in her lap and snuggle with her to try and make her feel better. As Foxy looked down at their innocent expressions, she couldn't help but begin to smile.

As soon as they saw her smiling, they cheered and began nudging her excitedly.

Nikki crawled along her arm until he reached her shoulder, then he draped himself around the back of her neck and hugged her, his engine purring like a kitten.

"Carpile on Foxy!" Harry exclaimed, and the others cheered, swarming Foxy. Soon, the group was clinging to her arms, her legs, her shoulders, and Harry was in the pocket of her sweatshirt, giggling wildly as she staggered about, the combined weight of the children too heavy for her to carry all at once. The children began begging her to play tag and hide-and-seek and truck-truck-minivan with them.

"Okay, I guess I'll play. But you've all got to get down first." She relented at last, her gloomy mood forgotten about.

The children once more cheered, then they began scrambling down from everywhere. Nikki was the last one to get down, after giving her cheek a gentle nuzzle and hugging her neck.

"You're so sweet." She gave him a smile, and he gave her a bashful smile, a light blush creeping up his hood.

Foxy giggled, then asked what game they would play first.

"We haven't played truck-truck-minivan yet, so can we play that?"

"Sure."

The group gathered around in a circle, volunteering Foxy to go first. She began tapping hoods lightly as she went, muttering, "Truck. Truck. Truck. Truck.. Truck. Truck. MINIVAN!" She exclaimed, tagging Mariana before running around the circle.

Mariana was gaining on her, so she went into a slide, desperate to win the spot.

At the last second, Mariana tagged her, giggling. "You're it again, Foxy."

"Of course I am." She sighed, getting to her feet and seeing the dirt smudge along her jeans. She began again, and this time tagged Paul. Big mistake.

Before she had even managed to start running, he had lunged at her, and tagged her, sending her flying through the dirt. "I lose again, Paul."

He just giggled and returned to his spot, and she started again. This time, she tapped Nikki's hood, and without waiting for him, she took off.

He took off in the opposite direction, catching her off guard.

She slid to a stop, staring down Nikki nervously. He grinned and charged for her, making her squeal and run away, back the other way. He abruptly changed directions, and headed back the way the others had gone, stopping her just before she got to his vacant spot. "I got you, Foxy!" He exclaimed, giggling.

She tried to dodge, but was tagged by Nikki. "I don't think I'm too good at this..."

The children giggled at her statement, then she continued the game.

This time, she tapped Harry's hood, and he took off after her.

Finally, she landed a spot, but only because he lost his grip on the dirt and stopped in a panic. Now it was Harry's turn, and he picked her. She bolted after him, giggling like a schoolgirl.

Unbeknownst to the group, Doc and Lightning were watching them goof off, chuckling at Foxy scooping up Harry and laughing with him. "Toldya she'd be fine." Doc turned to the racer, arching an eyelid.

"All the more reason for me to go tease her!"

"No!" Doc exclaimed, and Lightning grinned.

"I'm just kidding." He replied hastily.

"'Just kidding', my bumper. Ya said that she snapped at ya, do ya want it to happen again?"

Lightning quickly fell silent at this, and Doc nodded firmly.

"That's what I thought. Shoulda gave up my position as a racer, and become a track official, what with all your fights I break up." Doc muttered, shaking his hood with a sigh before rolling back up towards town.

"Hey! She starts them..."

"No, you know darn well that you start 'em. I can see it. Just leave her be for once. Let her come to you, and if she decides to goof off, then go ahead." Doc replied, looking back at Lightning before continuing on his way.

Lightning tilted his hood in thought, staring out into space across the track. '_Let her come to me...?_'

**I love the ending, it's my favorite part of the entire chapter. It's like he's speaking a foreign language. xD Honestly, there's nothing that can get it through that thick hood of his to leave her alone. **

**I just realized, Doc sounds a lot like my mother when my brother and I fight... xD **

**I absolutely love when the children are trying to cheer her up. It's so cute. :3 **

* * *

**Harry saw his chance, and joined Nikki in her lap, nuzzling into her stomach also. "It's not your fault Lightning was being mean, Foxy."**

**"Yeah, you just wanted him to leave you alone."**

**"And he didn't listen."**

**"So you shouldn't be upset that you yelled at him."**

**"Or that you snapped at him."**

* * *

***Squee*I love it how they complete the sentence together, it's something kids would do. xD**


	11. The 'Vengers Assemble

Meanwhile, down on the track, the group was dispersing quickly in a game of tag, with Foxy, of course, being 'it'. She dashed after Harry and Sara, the two giggling. At the last moment, they split up, and Foxy was left with nothing but a bush about two inches from her face.

She stood up, only to find the six children clustered behind her.

They squealed and scattered when she stood up, but she was able to catch Mariana, and hugged her tightly. "I've got you now! MWAHAHAHAHA!"

"Oh, no! Mariana's in trouble! Don't worry, we'll save you! Avengers, go!"

"Iron Car!" Harry exclaimed, assuming a triumphant stance.

"Black Window!" Sara exclaimed with a poorly-concealed giggle.

"The Hulk!" Jack replied, roaring the best she could.

"Cap'n 'Murica!" Nikki exclaimed, giggling.

The others giggled before resuming their fighting stances.

"Can I be Thor instead of Mr. Hawkdude? I'm not feeling like a good shot today..."

"Paul!"

"Okay, okay! THOR! Where's my hammer?"

"PAUL!"

"Found one!" He exclaimed, waving a stick.

"Then that means Hawkdude needs to be rescued... yay for me." Mariana mumbled, wilting in Foxy's grasp.

Foxy grinned, then used her tail as a moustache. "You little bitty 'Vengers won't find your precious Hawkdude anytime soon!"

With that, Foxy laughed again, an evil laugh, then took Mariana and hid her behind a bush. The other Avengers were busy following after Foxy, one of them providing theme music.

"They're creating their own theme music?" She replied with a sigh and a roll of her eyes, before building an 'enclosure' around Mariana out of sticks. "This is a Hawkdude-resistant lazer wall. That means that you can't break out unless you've got the code. Which you don't." Foxy laughed her evil laugh again, but was cut short by Nikki's shout.

"Not so fast, evil Dr. Foxy! 'Vengers, assemble! Cap'n 'Murica!"

"Iron Car!"

Jack roared, since she was the Hulk.

"THOR, SON OF ODIN!"

"Black Window!"

"Avengers, it's a lazer field! It'll shock anyone who dares touch it!"

"Thor, use your hammer to break the field!"

Paul obediently swung the stick around, then pointed it at the 'barrier'.

Nothing happened.

"HAMMER, WHY ARE THOU NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY?" Paul boomed, making the others laugh before regaining their composure.

"I know, I'll throw my shield at it!" Nikki exclaimed, tossing a dead tumbleweed at it.

"Hey, watch it!" Mariana exclaimed, dodging the bush.

"Sorry, Hawkdude!" He replied, again making the group giggle.

Jack roared, beating her front tires against the ground, then charged for the 'lazer field'. She acted as though she broke through it, then she rescued Mariana.

"Yay for the 'Vengers!"

"We're not finished yet, Cap'n. We've still got to vanquish the EVIL DR. FOXY-Hey, where'd she go?"

"MWAHAHAHAHAA!" Foxy replied, popping up behind them, making them all scream in surprise. "Now, little bitty 'Vengers, you're all trapped in the lazer field! Good luck getting out of this one!" She replied, building another barrier around the group with sticks and bushes.

Jack roared, then charged at a bush, wanting to make it look like she bounced off the barrier.

It worked, and the group laughed, Foxy quickly changing hers to an evil chuckle. "Poor poor Hulk. The field is only weak from the outside! From the inside, it's stronger then anything! Even you... Have fun..." She let the sentence hang in the air, adding an evil chuckle.

Afterwards, she walked off a few feet, giving the Avengers time to escape.

They made up an overly dramatic way to get out, using Iron Van's lazers to shatter through the top of the field. From there, he 'flew' the group out to safety.

At this point, Foxy popped out from behind the bush, and went over to the Avengers. "How could you have escaped my lazer field?! It's nearly impossible!"

"FOXY, DOCTOR OF EVIL, YOUR PLANNED THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED AND DISRUPTED."

"Now, prepare for trouble."

"And make it double."

"Triple."

"Quadruple."

"Quintuple."

"Sextuple."

"We're the 'Vengers!" The group exclaimed, then as one charged for Foxy, and began pouncing and climbing on her.

"Nooooo!" She howled, sinking to her knees. "You've foiled me again, you cursed 'Vengers!"

The group giggled, then got off Foxy, saying that it was really fun, and that they should do it more often. Foxy looked up at the sunset, then told the group that they should be getting home.

They turned towards the hills overlooking the track, and Foxy was shocked to find Lightning parked at the topmost one, looking down on the group.

He spotted her looking up at him, and quickly turned and headed back towards town, hoping that she wasn't angry.

Foxy sighed, shook her head, then began herding the group of children back towards town, picking Harry and Nikki up when they began pawing at her pants legs. She carried them back to town, and when they got there, she looked down and discovered that they were asleep.

"Looks like you wore them out." Brian commented quietly, giving her a smile as he looked at Harry.

As Foxy cast her eye around the group of children, she could tell that they were beginning to fall asleep. "What can I say. When I'm at my best, no child is immune to the Foxy."

The others chuckled quietly, and Brian rolled forwards to take Harry from her. She lifted him gently into Brian's grasp with the same arm that had been carrying him, then hoisted Nikki up a little more in her grasp.

He just snuggled against her and slept on.

"I'll go put him in bed, then I'll come take the others over." She gave the others a wave as she headed back towards Fillmore's, Nikki in her grasp. She tucked him into the beanbag chair, laid the blanket over him, then set her horse by his side. She crept back out, then carried Paul and Sara over to Brian's house.

The two snuggled against her sides, Paul in her right arm, Sara in her left. She smiled down at them, then entered their home. She carried them up the loft, then tucked them into their beds, setting their stuffed animals at their sides.

"You're good at dealing with kids, Foxy." Brian muttered, giving her a smile.

"All comes with practice. I've been known to wear even the most energetic children out, and then I'll let them watch a cartoon movie or something to wind down the evening. Once they're asleep, all I've got to do is carry them up to bed, get them in their beds, then go back down and be quiet until the parents come home. That's why I'll usually bring a book or something along." She replied, giving him a smile.

He returned it, then nudged her gently. "You feel like going out with us tonight?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Oh, come on, Foxy. You've had Nikki for how many months now, and you still can't let him here while you're away? Not even for a few hours?"

"Well... I have been feeling frazzled lately..."

"That settles it. You're coming with us." He gave her a smile, then nudged her onto his hood.

The two set off towards Flo's, and Foxy took Jack and Mariana over to Lightning's cone, where they lived even though they were Thunder's adopted children.

She went with the DRH that night, out for a night of joyriding.

When she got back, three hours later, she looked much happier then she had the past few months. "See you guys tomorrow." She called after them, and they all returned her goodnight.

"Have fun?" Fillmore asked, looking down at her with a smile.

"Sure did. We went out chasing jackrabbits. Or I did anyway."

The others chuckled, and a few shook their hoods in bewilderment. "That's our Foxy."

"Yeah, and don't you forget it, neither." She replied with a grin, and a matching yawn.

**Has anyone seen those memes with 'MURICA written as a caption? That's where I got the name Cap'n 'Murica from. I figured that Nikki would be the down-home, fun-lovin', mud-wrestlin' version of the original superhero, so there's why the name fits. XD **

**I don't own any of the Avengers in real life, although there is a possibility that I'd kidnap Iron Man, and The Hulk, and Thor... XD**

**To my GUEST: The number I got for the group of children (6) comes from the three triplets (Harry, Sara, and Paul), then Mariana, Jack, and now Nikki. Hope that clarifies things for you! :)**


	12. The Final Boss Battle

**Okay, so this is the last chapter of Foxy's New Child! :( It ended earlier then I thought it would, but I hope that this makes up for all the short chapters I've been putting out lately. And now, on with the show. :)**

* * *

She went over to Fillmore's dome, and snuggled into his side with a quiet purr. He chuckled quietly, and draped a tire over her, pulling her closer.

The two fell asleep quickly, and the last thing Foxy saw last night was Nikki, asleep in her chair, snuggling with her horse, his tiny tires wrapped around the horse's middle.

The next morning, she couldn't find Nikki or her horse anywhere, at least until something bounced onto her back. "Whaa!" She exclaimed, and heard laughter.

"Giddyap, Foxy! The hounds are after a hare!"

Still half asleep, she took off out of the dome, Nikki bouncing on her back from her uneven gait.

"Ha! I-It wo-o-orked!" He exclaimed, getting bumped around.

She shouted in surprise as something bright red pulled in front of her, but didn't stop. She couldn't at the speed she was going.

Lightning heard the familiar shout, and leapt aside as an ungainly Foxy charged by on her hands and feet, looking like a drunken horse. He watched as she went by, and realized that Nikki was riding her. "Oh, for the love of... Foxy! Foxy, stop!" He took off after the duo, the others quickly following after.

"Whoa, Foxy! Stop!"

She heard his panicked shout, and her eyes snapped open and she slammed her feet into the earth, sliding into a sitting position, looking dazed.

The others caught up, Lightning at the head of the pack. "You two all right?"

"What was that?"

"I scared her and she took off, just like a horsie!" Nikki exclaimed with a grin.

The others laughed, sensing that there was no danger, and Lightning ruffled Foxy's ears. "She makes a better Foxy then she does a horse. I mean, did you guys see the way she was running?" He laughed, the others joining him and nodding their agreement.

"Not my fault I'm human, and not a horse." Was her only reply.

"If ya were a horse, we'd have bigger problems." Doc chuckled, and she grinned.

"Yep. All right you little devil, have you done enough scaring for today?"

Nikki nodded, perched on her shoulder. "Your horse even went for a ride, Foxy." He exclaimed, pointing to her hood.

She reached around, and pulled out her horse. The others laughed, and she grinned. "That definitely wasn't there when I went to bed last night..."

The others laughed again, and Foxy gave Nikki a gentle roof noogie. "All right horse thief, you ready to go back to town?"

He nodded eagerly, and she stood up, Nikki still on her shoulder, looking like some goofy parrot. "Can we be pirates next? I wanna be the parrot!"

"No, we can't be pirates next. I still haven't had my coffee."

"Ohhh..." With that, he scrambled down off her shoulder, and began nudging her in the legs. "Warp speed, Mr. Spock!" He exclaimed, making the group laugh. "Foxy needs her coffee!"

"You want warp speed? I'll give you warp speed, Captain." With that, she sat him on her shoulders, and took off at a run, laughing with him.

The others chuckled, and continued following the increasingly tiny dot that was Foxy.

* * *

When they arrived, they found Foxy sprawled out on the pavement, panting while Nikki laughed, laying on her back. The others chuckled, and Lightning petted her hair. "That's why you don't do that until you've had your coffee."

She looked up, panting like a dog. "I think... Mr. Spock... set the Warp Speed... machine to level... nine." She managed to gasp out, making the others laugh.

Flo set a cup of coffee at her side, and Foxy began inhaling it. "Geez, Foxy, slow down! There won't be any left."

"That's the point." She managed to mumble through the drink, making the others laugh again. She continued drinking the warm caffeine, seemingly not needing to breathe.

The others watched her with fascination, until finally she came up for air.

"...What?" She asked, seeing the others staring at her.

"Only you, Foxy. Only you." Doc replied, chuckling and shaking his hood.

She grinned guiltily, then returned to her nearly empty coffee, draining the last swallowful quickly. "Now that's over with, are we gonna play pirates, Nikki?"

"YEAH!" He yelled, diving onto her shoulder and grinning.

"Can we play?" The other children asked, and Foxy nodded.

"Sure! Every good pirate needs a crew and a ship. Otherwise, he be just a landlubber." She grinned, already speaking like a pirate, and the kids cheered before they all took off to play on the triplets' jungle gym.

Foxy was the captain, with Nikki as her faithful parrot. The other five were assigned various positions, and they spent the afternoon playing.

What they didn't know was that they were being watched.

* * *

The setting sun glinted off a pair of eyes, turning them into crystals. A low growl came from their stalker, but nothing more, as this was an incredibly stealthy animal. It padded closer to them with ease, its large furry paws not making a sound. It stepped on a twig, which snapped ever so slightly.

* * *

Foxy, with her hearing, bolted upwards, her fox ears straight up in the air. She spotted the eyes watching them from the bushes, and growled at them, getting every child's attention. She rarely ever growled, and the others could tell from her puffed-up tail that it was an animal.

"What is it, Foxy?" Harry asked in a whisper, hiding behind her with the other children.

"Probably a mountain lion." She hissed back, never taking her eyes off the ones in the bushes.

There was a loud, feline-like scream that came from the bushes, and the children scattered.

The tan cat came streaking out of the bushes towards the children, who were screaming in terror. Foxy's instinct to protect kicked in, and she lunged for the cat, screaming out a battle cry. She hit the ground, rolled once, then was up on her feet again, charging for the cat. She screamed as it swiped a paw at the group, cutting into Nikki, Harry, Paul, and Sara.

The four screamed in pain and began to cry. The lion bared its teeth at them in a hiss, then went in for the kill.

"**NO!**" Foxy snarled, and tackled the cat, rolling it away from the children.

When both came to a stop, the lion began charging at her, a gesture she gladly returned. Seeing that she was a threat, the lion instead went for the children again, pouncing on Harry and Nikki. "**NO, DAMMIT! YOU STAY AWAY FROM THEM!**" Foxy roared, then bit into the cat's tail as hard as she could. She could actually hear something snap. Whether it was her jaws or the cat's tail, she couldn't tell.

She let go, which was a mistake. The lion went after Harry and Nikki again, who by this time were sobbing wildly, and past the point of comprehension. "**NOT MY KIDS, YOU BASTARD!**" She exclaimed without realizing what she had said, and charged at the cat again, sinking her teeth into its tail again, hearing a sharp snap and knowing now that it was her jaws.

The cat ignored her and continued attacking the children, almost oblivious to her attempts. She leaped onto the cat's back feet first, stomping down as hard as she could. The cat yowled in alarm, then whirled around.

Foxy took the advantage, then moved to block the children from the cat. "Try it now, you worthless rug." She hissed, her eyes full of venom and flashing angrily. She was visibly shaking from adrenaline, and completely ready for a fight.

The kids were cowering behind her, sure that she wouldn't be able to kill it.

Harry and Nikki were awake but whimpering quietly over their injuries.

The cat charged, so did she.

She sunk her teeth into the cat's ear, then with the quickest reflexes any of the children had ever seen, straddled it like a horse, grabbed its ears and pulled its head back until she heard its back snap.

It gave off a yowl of pain before she let it hit the ground, and barely a second went by before she was on top of it again, beginning to pummel it rapidly, anger kicking in. "_**WHY. DON'T. YOU. DIE. ALREADY?!**_" She snarled at it, trying to rip it to shreds with her bare hands, not noticing that it had stopped moving some time ago.

"Foxy!"

She looked up at the shout in surprise, her eyes wild and dangerous-looking. There were the others, all clumped together at the side entrance to the backyard, all with looks of horror and shock written across their faces. She watched as Lightning's bumper dropped as he saw the scene. She threw the lifeless animal to the ground, having had ahold of its ears as she sat on its back, pummeling its head into the ground.

The silence dragged on, and nobody moved.

"Foxy, you did it!" Mariana and Jack exclaimed, breaking the silence, racing over, and hugging her legs.

"I did?" She asked blankly, unsure of what happened.

"You saved us!" Mariana replied happily, hugging her leg still tighter.

"Not all of you though..." Foxy replied, the memory of why she attacked coming back to her. She looked over at Nikki, and found him shaking.

"Nikki, Harry, Sara, and Paul. Are you guys all okay?" She asked, going over to the small group.

The four nodded, and Nikki looked up at Foxy. "You killed the big mean kitty to save us, Foxy."

She sighed with relief, then gave him a faint smile. "I had to, Nikki."

"You're extremely lucky. I doubt a car could've taken on a mountain lion like that, much less a human." Doc told her, rolling towards her slowly to look her over for any injuries. "Come on. Let's get you five over to the clinic." He told them finally, and she scooped up the children who were injured.

"Wait... you said five, but only four of the kids are hurt. Who's the fifth?"

"You." He replied simply, and she looked down.

Sure enough, there were numerous, bloodied tears in her shirt, each area having five claw-induced slashes. She just followed him out from behind the buildings, carrying the four children in her grasp. They got to the clinic, and she set the children down, insisting that he look at them first. "I'm telling you, I'm fine, Doc! They're the ones who look like they're hurt worse."

He gave her a long, unwavering, intense stare, then sighed and told her to go grab the necessary items.

She nodded, and went to retrieve them. She came back quickly, and he began patching them up.

Harry and Nikki, who had received the inital attack plus a personal attack, were slashed up the worst of the group (other then Foxy), and were tended to first. Both cringed in pain and tried to draw away as Doc welded the gashes back up, only Foxy stopping them from leaving. Next, it was Sara and Paul's turn, and they too cringed.

Finally, the last one of the evening was Foxy, and in the end, Doc needed to pin her down by her hoodie as he sewed her up. "Yer worse then the kids, Foxy." He told her, shaking a tire at her after she was done.

"Not my fault the fu-a-hahaha... uhh, stupid cat tried coming after them. He didn't realize that he would have to deal with me if he even thought about coming after us." She replied in a hiss, her ears going back.

"I swear, Foxy. You'd take on a helicopter if it meant savin' those kids."

"Of course I would. Until either me or it was dead, I'd never stop."

"You're loyal. I'll give ya that." He replied, shooing her outside.

"Foxy, why'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Kill the lion with your bare hands, of course!"

"It attacked the kids. I'm not going to waste time going for the knife that's... in my back pocket, of course." She sighed, and the others exchanged horrified expressions.

"Ya had a knife, and ya didn't use it?!"

"I forgot it was there, all right?" She exclaimed, and Sheriff rolled his eyes. "Anyways, like I was saying. I'm not going to waste time going for a weapon, when I've got my teeth and my hands. They're the best weapons I've got in a crisis, which this was." She finished, sitting down over at Flo's. She was surprised when the kids swarmed her from behind, knocking her over onto the pavement as they hugged her and told her how brave she was for standing up to the lion. "You're welcome, guys. I'd never let anything bad happen to anyone as long as I'm around."

The children cheered and hugged her tighter, and she hugged each of them right back.

"Still don't know how ya did it."

"What, killed the lion with my bare hands?"

The others nodded, and Foxy looked down at her bloody hands.

"Simple, really. Anger, rage, loyalty, protective instinct, and ability. Throw all that together, and you've got one mean Foxy, one who can take down a helicopter, as Doc says."

"I never said that!" His indignant exclamation rang out, making the others laugh.

"You suggested it, and I said that yeah, I'd never give up until either me or it was dead."

Doc sighed and returned to his coffee, and the others looked at Foxy in shock. "You really mean it?"

"Of course I do. I'd even take on the... GHOSTLIGHT if it meant keeping you guys safe."

Mater's eyes widened. "Dadgum, Foxy. Ya ain't playin' around no more."

"You're dadgummed right I ain't." She replied with a furious snort.

The others laughed, and Foxy snuggled with the children, completely happy that they were still around. She was ready for another fight, and more then willing to do it all again if it meant keeping them alive for another day.

**And so we come to the end, with a dash of action thrown in to end with a bang. :) And yes, Foxy said 'KidS'. She considers the entire group hers, as though she's adopted them. :3 So if there's one lesson to be learned, it's don't mess with any of the kids, otherwise Foxy will rip you to shreds. XDXD **

**Oh, the blood on her hands is from her injuries, not the mountain lion, because there weren't any wounds that she had made, other then the bite on the ear. XD**

**Just thought of something, Foxy could be a wrestler... XD**

**Anyways, we've reached the end of the road (hah, puns), and I don't own any of the mentioned 'Star Trek' references, such as Mr. Spock, Warp Speed, or level nine. Yes, I do watch the reruns of Next Generation on BBC. :) Patrick Stewart is amazing as Captain Jean Luc-Picard. :D BRB, I'm fangirling now. XD**

**Annnnyyyywwwwaaaayyyyysssss... there will be more stories. I've got about... seven? Written in Google Docs, and I'm just waiting for the right moment to unveil them. Yes, I know that I haven't written a song Fanfic in a while, I haven't been in the right 'mood' to write one in a while, so forgive me for it. I'll see if I can get one formulated tonight, somehow. **

**EmilyTheBrave, I saw that you wanted me to work on the Monster's Inc. Scenario for Foxy, and I have a title for it, but just no story. I'm still trying to figure out who could play the parts of Mike and Sulley out of the townsfolk. I'll keep thinking on it though! :) Don't you worry! ~Liz**


End file.
